Mazoku of my Dreams
by Beedoo
Summary: The search for Zel's cure continues! Lina and the gang pick up a new member: a talented chef named Mayaki... but is she more than she seems? (Well, yeah.. duh..) Warning: you're in for the long haul!
1. Prologue: Know How to Haggle

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Prologue: Know How to Haggle

"Hey, Lina! Look at this one!" The swordsman stooped to look over the selection of expensive magical swords. Their latest bandit/sword-hunting trip had taken them all around the countryside, and during their stay in Port Aubergine, the pair of travelers had run across a promising magic shop. 

"Wow... everything in this place is so expensive!" the sorceress remarked, looking through the shelves of potions and elixirs. 

"I bet it's not just because of good quality, either," her companion echoed. 

Lina processed the thought and blinked. "Good eye, Gourry. Guess my genius is finally starting to rub off on you," she teased. 

He answered with a good-natured chuckle. "It's about time, too." The two gazed happily at one another. Anyone who caught a glimpse of them would know that they were inseparable. The brilliant blue of his eyes reflected in her bright scarlet ones, and vice versa. 

Someone cleared their throat, and the couple broke their gaze, turning their somewhat embarrassed eyes on the shopkeeper. "Is there something I can help you with?" 

Gourry nodded once. "These swords... they're all magical?" 

"Well, this _is_ a magic emporium, sir." 

Lina shook her head. "That doesn't always mean they're magical. You wouldn't believe some of the junk vendors will try to pawn off on unwary customers." 

The shopman looked somewhat offended. "Perhaps other places, madam, but we carry only the genuine article in this shop." He turned his attention to Gourry. "Is there any particular sword I can show the gentleman?" 

"Who?" he responded dully, receiving an elbow in the side from Lina. "Oh! Me, huh? Well... what kind of magic do they do?" 

The man gave him a bare grin, beginning to detail each. "This one generates a small magical shield for its user. The second carries an invisibility spell, which makes the wielder invisible when it's drawn. This carries a partial levitation spell, so any jump the user makes is amplified and cushioned. These next two are all but indestructible-I know the maker myself and his wares are always exquisite-then there's the Elven piece, there. It carries some sort of magical field, but we aren't really certain what it's for, and the one on the end-the cheap one-is a Howling sword." 

The swordsman paused, holding his chin in his hand. "Hey, isn't that what that guy Zangulus had, Lina?" 

"Yeah," she affirmed. "And then he got another one after you busted his first one." 

The shopman added his opinion. "Yes, Howling swords, while rare, are not terribly expensive or sought after. They have a spell added to them to increase their durability, but they don't hold up well against other enchantments or heavy fighting." 

"Yikes... I hope Zangulus got his on sale..." Lina winced. 

Gourry thought for a second. "Why're they called Howling swords again?" 

The sorceress's jaw dropped. "And here I thought you were getting smarter! Jellyfish for brains...They're called Howling swords because that's the sound of the wind they generate! Don't you remember those fights with Zangulus at _all_??" 

The shopkeeper tapped her on a shoulder sheepishly. "Actually, madam, I believe it's called a Howling sword after its maker. Willam Howling." 

Lina's jaw went slack. "You honestly expect me to believe that there's some guy out there named Willam Howling that makes these swords?" 

The shopkeeper snorted. "No, of course not." 

Lina congratulated herself. "I thought so." 

"Willam passed away years ago, after he passed the family business to his son, Willam Howling the Second." 

The sorceress nearly fell over, eyes bulging. "Ehh??" 

"Yes, see," the man continued, holding the Howling sword up for her inspection. "He's pressed his name into the metal here on the hilt." 

Lina gaped as she read the words "HOWLING II" and underneath, "FYNE SWORDS." "Ohh, I don't _believe_ this..." 

Gourry, meanwhile, had lost interest in the conversation and was inspecting the intricate etchings on the Elven sword. He focussed in on one element in particular. Unlike the rest of the intricate and intersecting knot designs and fleurs characteristic of Elven work, this seemed to be nothing more than two concentric circles, surrounding a tiny hole... 

"Hmf.. just wait until Zangulus hears about this... him and his darn 'Howling Sword Part 2,' huh, Gourry?" Lina snorted as the shopkeeper replaced the sword on its display rest. When he didn't answer immediately, she looked over at him. "Gourry?" 

"Lina, look..." he picked the long and heavy claymore up easily, holding it so she could see the pinhole in the design. The shopkeeper joined them in their examination. 

"How odd... that's not a normal Elfin pattern." 

"It's not?" Lina pressed. 

The man shook his head quickly, curiously. "No. I've seen thousands of Elfin swords. I've taken rubbings of some of the designs in order to recognize them later. And _never_ have I seen one with a hole in the hilt. What could it possibly be for?" he wondered aloud. 

"Beats me," Lina shrugged. "Where did you say you got it?" 

"I didn't say. But it previously belonged to a local man who died recently. I know he had been looking for an apprentice for many years, but I suppose he never found one. The state sold off his property in an auction, and I was lucky enough to know the worth of this piece and bid out everyone else." 

The other two turned back to Gourry, who was digging into his pocket to pull out the tiny sewing kit he used to mend his clothes while he was on the road. He pulled out a needle and carefully inserted it into the hole. Something inside the hilt sprung back with an audible click. The blade slipped out and onto the floor with a resounding clank. 

"That's certainly interesting..." the shopkeeper noted. "Why would anyone need a sword with a removable blade?" 

Lina remembered a time when Rezo's men had been after them... a battle with Dilgear, the werewolf-troll, and following that, with a monster. She thought back to when Gourry had faced up to the creepy old spider guy... 

...and had done a similar thing with his sword then. 

An expression of dawning realization came over her face. "Oh, it probably just comes out so you can clean the blade. You know how nasty the joint can get, dirt, blood... who knows what else? That's probably the magic you detected... it works the catch in the hilt." She hoped she sounded truthful enough for the man to believe her. 

"But Lina..." the unwitting swordsman began. "This is..." 

"Shut up, Gourry," she replied, stomping on his boot sharply. "He'll take it." 

The tall mercenary winced. "Yeah, I'll take it. Um, how much... is it?" 

The shopman sighed and steeled himself. "Eight thousand gold." 

Gourry flinched. Lina pinwheeled her arms as she nearly fell over backward. "Eight THOUSAND gold pieces?! For a sword whose only magic is a blade that comes loose?!" 

"I did have to pay quite a bit for it in the auction, and I need to make a living as well." He observed the stunned looks on the faces of his customers. "Perhaps I could go as low as seven thousand pieces, since you did discover its trick..." 

"Please!" Lina snapped. "If we hadn't have discovered that, you would have sold it to him for a thousand!" 

"Since you put it that way, I could let it go at slightly above cost, at five thousand." 

Gourry looked crestfallen. "Oh. I don't have that much money..." 

"Then I'll buy it," Lina declared. "How about 4,500, and a personal endorsement from the one and only sorcery genius, Lina Inverse?" 

The shopkeeper looked nervous. "L-Lina Inverse? The Bandit Killer? The Dragon Spooker?!" 

Lina looked bashful, then halfway angry. "Leave the 'Dragon Spooker' off the sign, and I won't fireball you on the way out." 

"You have a deal, Miss Inverse." 

* * * * *

Lina squealed happily as she skipped out of the shop with the sword in her arms. She clutched at the fancy leather sheath the shopkeeper had been generous enough to throw in for free. "He probably hasn't had a sale that good in a long time! Oh, I can't believe it! I finally got a Sword of Light!" 

Gourry smiled at her. "Thanks, Lina... Can I try it out now?" 

She hugged the sword protectively and turned her back toward him. "No way, Gourry! This one's mine!" 

"Come on, let me see it!" 

"No! It's MINE!" 

She cast a glance at him. The tall blonde looked heartbroken. She'd never seen him that ready to cry, even when she'd kicked him in the groin. She turned her nose up and started toward the inn they were staying at. The tall man followed her, looking like a whipped puppy. 

*I just don't get her,* he thought. *She' so mean sometimes...* 

"Hey, Gourry?" the petite sorceress's voice interrupted. 

"What," he responded emotionlessly. She waited until he was looking at her. "What?" 

She flashed him a coy smile with her head cocked cutely to one side. "Ya know, I think this sword may be too big for me to carry. Claymores are pretty heavy." 

Gourry thought. "You could always take the blade out. You don't really need that part for it to be a great weapon." 

For a second, she looked floored. "Well, I don't want such a precision Elfin blade to get left behind, either. I was thinking... Maybe you'd like to take care of it for me. Y'know... just until I grow into it." She heaved the sword into his arms.

Gourry brightened immediately. "You mean it, Lina?" 

She smiled sweetly up to him. "Sure do." 

He met her gaze with his own broad smile, then buckled the sword around his waist and put and arm around her shoulders. She clung to his waist as they walked down the street together. "Come on... I bet there's an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet around here someplace. I'm buying." 

"Hey, great!" 

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncracies!


	2. Chapter 1: Road Rage

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 1: Road Rage! Yet Another Quest Begins! 

"I can't believe they ran out of food again! Especially after doing it last night, too!" the sorceress complained. "How completely rude of them!" 

"Yeah. You would think in a port town they would be able to catch more fish sooner than that." 

"Well, that just puts a damper on my whole day," she sighed. "I hope there's some monsters or bandits on this road 'cause I really want to fireball something now. Geez. First that expensive sword, then the all-you-can-eat runs out of food, then they're not restocked for the morning and we have to travel on half-empty stomachs! This whole week isn't shaping up to be very good." 

Gourry shrugged. "But we did get another Sword of Light. That's good." 

Lina humphed. "Wasn't so good for my purse. That was more than half of the bandit treasure I gathered over the past couple of months! Boy, I sure haven't been getting very lucky lately-hey!" A fast-moving streak passed the two travelers, barely missing Lina on her side of the road. "Why you little jerk! You're gonna get it for that one, buddy! FIREBALL!" 

The flaming sphere made a gentle underhand arc as it came down in the path of the streak, knocking the victim back with a moderate-sized explosion. Lina stormed up to the man as he lay in the road, smothering the burning parts of his beige clothes and cape in the dust. "Whoever you are, you had better have a damn good reason for nearly running me down back there! You're lucky my aim is off thismorning or you'd be fried to a cinder!" 

The traveler sighed and turned to meet her angry gaze. "Having a bad morning, are we, Lina?" 

Lina balked at the familiar voice. Her attitude changed immediately. "Zel! Fancy running into you here!" 

Zelgaddis snorted good-naturedly. "I almost literally had to run into you... You two were taking up the whole road." 

"Wait a minute, are you calling me fat?!" 

Using his better judgement, the chimaera decided to refrain from answering that. "It's good to see you again. Hello, Gourry." 

"Heya, Zel. Lina, you tried to blow up Zel? Why?" 

The sorceress shrugged innocently. "I didn't know it was him." She looked the chimaeric swordsman over, noting that he still wore his shielding hood and facemask. "No cure yet, huh?" she said sympathetically as the three began walking together. 

"No." 

"I bet you have a good lead, though. Otherwise, you wouldn't be going so fast." 

He gave her a rare smile. "Can't put anything past you." 

"So where are you off to at breakneck speed, mowing down every lovely sorcery genius in your path?" 

"It's a place called Tel-" A horse's neigh interrupted him. Two white stallions charged around the bend, straight for them. 

"Look out!" Zel shouted, shoving Lina and Gourry out of the way. 

A high-pitched voice carried to them as one of the riders stood up in the stirrups. "Hold it right there, evildoers! Justice comes swiftly to-whoa! Easy, horsie! Whoa! _Whoa!!_ No brakes!" The threesome stared with eyes as large as plates as the horse finally skidded to a sideways halt, the small black-haired rider falling to the ground as the momentum jerked her out of the saddle. She groaned slightly, trying to free her foot from the stirrup it was still caught in. "I'm okay! *ahem* You who ambush...oof... travelers on this free road, prepare for battle, for Justice has...errf!...arrived and you have...grrr...nowhere left to go!" At the word 'go,' the horse began a gentle trot to rejoin its companion, dragging the crusading princess behind. "Wait, horsie! Not you!" 

"Errr... was that..." Lina started. 

Zel chuckled. "She hasn't changed a bit either." 

Gourry nodded. "Sure hasn't." 

The second horse cantered up to the group, its larger, broader rider calling a greeting. "Ho there, travelers! Please stop this quarrel! Violence is not the way to solve things!" 

"Prince Phil!" Lina called, waving. 

"Why, Miss Lina Inverse! Imagine you being here!" 

The young woman put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, imagine it. Once again, fate throws us together at the same spot at the same time." 

Phil cast the three of them a cursory glance. "And hello to you, Mister Gourry, and to you, Mister Zelgaddis. You don't appear to be under attack... what was that loud explosion we heard?" 

Lina scratched the back of her head. "Oh, just me, blowing off some steam. In Zel's general direction. Hi, Amelia!" 

"Hi, Miss Lina," the younger girl sighed, leading her horse back to where the group stood. "Guess I messed it up this time too..." 

"You can say that again," the redhead scolded. "What are you two doing here anyway?" 

The princess brightened. "Daddy and I are on our way back from a diplomatic meeting in Gandora. What are all of you doing here?" 

Lina thought for a second. "It's kind of a strange coincidence. We just met up with Zelgaddis not five minutes ago." 

"It must mean something!" Amelia decided adamantly. "Coincidences like this don't happen without a reason! We should go on a quest... the four of us, just like before! Oh, can I go, Daddy?" 

Phil thought it over. "I don't see why you shouldn't. After all, it isn't every day you meet up with your friends, getting ready to go do great justice!" 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... what quest?" Lina demanded. "What justice? We just happened to meet here... Who says it means anything?" 

Amelia pouted at her. "Don't you find this a little weird. We must have been brought here for a reason. There must be someone around here who needs our help." 

Gourry nodded, finally adding to the conversation. "Maybe so. I mean, this happening right after I get a new sword and everything..." 

"Our mission went just fine, so it isn't us, and it's probably not either of the provinces here..." 

"And Gourry and I are just dandy, so that leaves..." Lina glanced around. "Zelgaddis?" Gourry tapped her shoulder and pointed down the road. The chimaera had taken the opportunity to get out while he could, and was already making his way down the road. "Zelgaddis!" Lina shouted at him. 

"Mister Zelgaddis, wait for us!" Amelia jogged after him, leading her horse by the reins. 

Philionel guffawed as he watched the motley group go on their way. "Good luck, all of you!" he shouted before continuing on his way home. "Have fun!" 

"Mister Zelgaddis, wait! We're coming with you!" 

Zel quickened his step. "Go home with your father, Amelia," he told her firmly. 

"Come on, Zel! We can help you search! You've got a better chance of finding it with all of us looking, right?" Lina insisted, keeping pace with him on his other side. 

"Wrong," the stone man insisted. "You'll just slow me down." 

"You were just about to tell us where you were going before, Zel. Some new clue, right?" Gourry pried. 

"Yeah, Zel.. geez, this could be it, and if this really IS it, we want to be there to see it! We'll throw a big party for you and everything!" 

"No. No. No." 

"Humor us, Zel. We're your friends, and we want to do something special for you. Is that such a bad thing?" Lina stared him down. 

He sighed. "I suppose nothing's going to happen to Telgen City for the next few days. But no Dragon Slave, you!" he ordered, tapping Lina on the nose. 

She held two fingers on her right hand up and winked at him. "On my honor." 

"Daddy and I passed a little village early thismorning, near the crossroads... We can probably get there by nightfall," Amelia volunteered. 

"Great! Sounds like a plan, right, Zel?" 

The chimaera sighed. "Fine..." 

Lina and Gourry dropped to the rear, chatting quietly. Amelia took her customary place at his side, but the two of them were silent for quite a while before she broke the uncomfortable silence. "It's really good to see you again, Mister Zelgaddis." 

Zel paused a moment before responding to her. "You too, Amelia." 

Another silent moment. 

"I just want you to know that we won't let you down." 

"Let me down?" 

"Your cure. We won't stop until we find it." 

He sighed deeply. They'd more or less pushed him into this. "Amelia, I really don't-" 

"My, my... look who we have here?" 

Zelgaddis clenched his eyes shut. "Oh no... not him..." 

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncracies!


	3. Chapter 2: Not As Sweet As She Cooks

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 2: Not As Sweet As She Cooks...

Our tale truly begins as our heroes travel along a wooded path on this quest for Zelgaddis's sake. He had objected when the others had volunteered to come along, but it was no use to try to stop Lina, anyone could tell that. And of course, wherever she went, there was the swordsman, Lina's self-declared protector, Gourry Gabriev, trailing along behind like a faithful puppy. He wasn't too much in the area of a brain, and there was no hope of an intelligent conversation with him, but he had his uses at times. At least he didn't intentionally cause problems for the group. And naturally, wherever Zelgaddis was going to go, there was Amelia, too. The little champion of justice seemed to have a crush on him. Zelgaddis was rather puzzled with her... sure, he liked her, but was it in _that_ sort of way?

It wasn't any of these three Zel truly objected to having along on the journey. Lina and Amelia were at least good company. Gourry was at least good at beating off things that tried to attack them all. It was the fifth member of the team that Zel would rather live out the rest of his life not seeing.

"Well, hello, everyone! Where are we off to now?" Xellos. He said he had his motives for coming along with them... and of course, they were a secret. Zelgaddis was sure it was just to annoy him. "Wait, wait, let me guess first. We're all looking for something to make Mr. Greywords human again, is that it?" The Mazoku priest smiled mischievously. "Well, you're certainly going to need my help, so I may as well come along with you. No, no, don't try to convince me otherwise, I'm sure I can fit it into my schedule."

*Us need _him?* _Zelgaddis thought darkly. *We need him like a fireball to the gut...* He paced along the path silently, glaring at the monster. Xellos looked back and smiled at him, waving brightly. This put Zelgaddis in an even fouler mood. Not even a full day on this quest and he was already ready for it to be over and done with. Still, the result he was looking for wasn't going to just fall in his lap.

At long last, the path opened onto a road, which led them to a small village that didn't look like more than a little clearing in the forest. Lina yawned, stretching one arm over her head, then folding it behind her neck. "Well, time to find some food and a good bed! Now, let's see..." She glanced around, looking for a likely inn.

Amelia, deciding that none of the buildings around them looked like a place to stay, asked one of the townsfolk for directions. "Excuse me, sir, can you tell us where to find an inn here?"

The man looked at her for a second, then humphed and walked off. Amelia stared confusedly after him, with Gourry staring after the man from behind her. "Wow... friendly folks in these parts..."

"Yeah," she replied, blinking in shock.

Lina and Zelgaddis tried approaching another villager, with slightly better luck. "Ma'am, can you tell us where to find an inn around here?"

"Inn?" the old crone squawked back at them. "There's only one inn around these parts, and you don't want to stay there, take my word! You'd do well to camp out in the forest, you would!" Lina and Zel stared blankly at her. After glaring back threateningly, the old woman sighed and shook her head. "But, if you insist on throwing your lives away, that's it there." She raised a withered hand to indicate a well-kept building a little way down the street. Muttering to herself, she tottered off, going about her business as usual.

"Hmmm... I wonder what could be so bad about that place?" Zel thought aloud.

Lina nodded and added, "Yeah, or why no one will even tell us... Xellos? Any ideas?"

Xellos smiled his typical passive smile. "I'm as stumped as all of you are this time." Zelgaddis could have kicked him.

"Well, whatever it is, it can't be worse than spending the night hungry and sleeping on the ground. Let's go!" Lina made a beeline for the front porch, the others trailing behind her.

The inn was small, but nice looking, with flowers in the window-beds and in baskets outside the door. A young blonde woman was lighting the outside lamps for the night as Lina and her friends arrived, meeting them with a welcoming smile and a slight bow. "Welcome to my inn, dear travelers. How may I serve you?"

"Food, and lots of it!" Lina demanded brightly. "And sleeping quarters for five." It occurred to her later that Xellos probably didn't need a bed, but he didn't mention anything at the time.

The girl wilted slightly, pausing. "Oh.. oh dear."

"What, 'Oh dear?'" Zel asked, conscientiously pulling his hood up to hide his features.

"This is a small inn, lords and ladies, I have beds for four of you only, though... if one of you does not mind a pallet near the downstairs fireplace..."

"It's good enough for us, miss!" Amelia announced triumphantly for the group.

The young woman bowed again graciously. "Thank you for understanding. Not many people pass through these parts needing lodging, especially such a large group as this. Please, follow me to the dining room. Mayaki! We have guests! Five dinners!"

"All right, Ari! I'm already on it!" 

As the five travelers shucked off their things and settled themselves around the table, their hostess introduced herself. "My name is Aramina Tems Gabrine. My partner, Mayaki Avi-Sora, is the cook... you'll be amazed at her skill! Please, if you need anything, call for us." She bowed again slightly.

"Ari! The wine!" Mayaki called from the kitchen.

"Oh! Right!" Ari jumped slightly and reprimanding herself, dashed into the kitchen, fetching out a bottle and five goblets expertly balanced on a small tray. "Fresh berry wine, Mayaki's own recipe!"

Gourry sipped at his, immediately exclaiming, "Hey... this is delicious!" He quickly drained his goblet. "I can't imagine why the villagers would warn us away from this place, unless they just wanted all this great wine to themselves!" He began fighting Lina for the bottle to pour himself another glass.

Ari reappeared from the kitchen. "Fresh bread, compliments of the chef!" She set down two enormous loaves of dark rye, one at either end of the table, and a dish of soft, whipped sweetened butter. The group's eyes lit up, except for Xellos, whose expression remained happily amused. Nonetheless, he didn't refrain from trying to garner the largest share of the bread for himself right along with the others. Mayaki could be heard humming to herself in the kitchen as if there were nothing in the world she would rather be doing. Ari, meanwhile, slipped plates and silverware in front of the busily quarreling guests as they fought over the last of the bread. "You all must have had a long trip to be so hungry!" Ari chuckled.

"No, supper is always a life-or-death struggle with this bunch," Zelgaddis commented as he managed to finally get the last of the butter away from Xellos, spreading it triumphantly on his slice. Xellos managed to look disappointed at the loss.

"Ari! Where are youuu?" Mayaki called from the kitchen. Ari disappeared again, back almost as soon as she left with large bowls of fish stew.

"Mayaki apologizes that the salad will be after the soup tonight since she did not have time yet to wash the greens from the garden yet," Ari relayed. The group stared, but quickly recovered and barreled into their bowls of thick soup. They conveyed their compliments to the chef through various slurps and yummy noises. Before even Lina could finish that off, Ari set down the exquisite salads in front of them with carafes of dark vinegar, oil, and a jar of spices. She also produced a new bottle of the sweet wine, receiving cheers and applause from the table's occupants.

Mayaki finally made her appearance with the main course: large roasted, spiced brushquail with small, buttered potatoes sprinkled with dill, steamed green beans and carrots strewn with small bits of crisp bacon and fried onions. The cook herself glowed with happiness at her achievements, and her smile spread to all those awaiting the birds to be served. Mouths all around the table watered as the aroma of the spices on the quail reached them. Mayaki's russet-burgundy hair, though partially tied back with a scarf, swirled around her as she served her guests. Her light-blue apron didn't have a spot on it from all her work, showing her expertise. "How is everything so far?" she asked as she served the quail, two to each visitor. Much nodding, chewing, and more yummy sounds answered her, and her smile widened. She giggled slightly as she left the last quail on Amelia's plate. "Remember, there's dessert and cider left to come," she reminded them, bustling back into the kitchen to continue her preparations.

Lina swallowed her last potato and speared one from Gourry's plate. "This is incredible!" she said, chewing and following the comment with a swig of wine. "I mean, when was the last time any of us ate this well?"

"It must be good if Lina's stopping to make dinner conversation," Zelgaddis observed. "Don't you always eat this well?" he teased.

"Yeah," she retorted, "but it's not always this _good_ is what I mean!"

"Mr. Gourry must be right. The villagers must want to keep this a secret so they get all this good food to themselves!" Amelia says, tearing into a drumstick.

Lina nodded. "Yeah, that sure is weird... HEY!" She stabbed her fork at Gourry's before it could make off with the rest of her second quail.

Mayaki and Ari began clearing the table and exchanged a rather nervous look. Nevertheless, they left the travelers to their meal, minding their own business. Mayaki set a tray heaping full of small cakes in the center of the table and placed dishes of sweet cream before each of the guests before assisting Ari in setting out cups and saucers for the mulled cider.

Suddenly a brick, thrown from outside, crashed through the window and flew directly into the pile of cakes before anyone could grab one. Mayaki stared at it, then glared out through the broken window, looking for all the world like her blood was boiling. "I'll kill 'em," she said, grabbing the brick and storming outside after the hooligans. "I'll KILL 'em!!" Her skirts flew around her as she headed through the front door.

Ari was after her in a second. "Mayaki! Mind your temper!"

Gourry was first on his feet, following them outside, but the rest of the group was fast on his heels. They arrived in time to see the retreating bunch of miscreants, calling back things like, "Monster! Mismatch! Demon!" as they went. Mayaki threw the brick at them with enough force to catch one of them in the back, but it didn't slow down the gang for a second. Lina, aware of the fire in Mayaki's eyes, pushed her to the side and shouted, "Fireball!" sending the flaming projectile after the vandals, who sped up their escape run as much as they could. But not enough. The fireball wound up doing a lot more damage to them than the brick did.

Mayaki bowed to Lina and took both of her hands as a gesture of friendship. "Thank you. I'm sure they won't be back for a long time after that trick," she chuckled.

"My pleasure," Lina answered with a smile. "Anyone ruining a meal like that deserves to be punished by a sorcery genius. And anyone who can fix food like that deserves to be avenged. Now let's go see what we can salvage from dessert!"

* * * * *

The five wanderers drew straws to figure out who would get the downstairs pallet. Now that they had ordered it, Xellos said, it would look awfully suspicious if he were to disappear and offer to go sleep somewhere else. Zelgaddis had grumbled that in that case Xellos should get the pallet and let the rest of them have the comfortable beds, but, to make a further nuisance of himself, the trickster opted for a "democratic" way of deciding things. Zelgaddis wound up drawing the short straw. Naturally. Never trust a Mazoku when it comes to being democratic.

The girls were taking one of the two upstairs rooms, Xellos and Gourry the other. Zelgaddis didn't really mind being alone... he had been since he was turned into a chimaera so many years ago. It was just that being alone was so...well, lonely. It got to him once in a great while. But for this night, he didn't mind so much. The pallet he was given was soft and comfortable... and that was quite a complement coming from someone with a stone body to begin with. The room was warm and quiet, everything Zelgaddis could have hoped for and more. He put his arms behind his head and began to let his mind drift.

He was beginning to doze as he heard someone moving clumsily through the dark room, stubbing her toes on chairs as she went. "Who's there?" he called softly. 

The figure froze for a moment, then answered, "It's Mayaki...er..."

"What are you doing up so late?" he asked, sitting up on the pallet.

She paused for a moment, deciding if she should tell him her intentions or not. "I'm leaving. The whole village will stop at nothing to get rid of me. You saw what happened at dinner?" she whispered. "Well, that happens every time someone comes to stay at this place, and even sometimes when there isn't anyone. Sometimes they tear up my garden too... it's horrible. So I'm cutting the inn's losses and leaving before they do anything worse than namecalling and bricks and ruined vegetables."

Zelgaddis blinked. "You can't just up and leave... what about your friend?"

"Ari? Oh, she'll understand. I left her a note. We've been friends for a long time now. She owns this place anyway, and she can find a cook easily enough."

Zel considered for a moment. The girl made for the door now that her eyes had adjusted to the dim light from the fire. "There are lots of bandits and worse on the roads. Especially this time of night."

Mayaki drew a small dagger from the bodice of her dress. "I can take care of myself."

*That dagger couldn't cut butter,* he thought. "I have a better idea. You can come along with us when we set out in the morning. It would make me feel a lot better at least that you would be with someone on your travels. You would be much safer with us," he explained with genuine concern.

Mayaki finally gave in. "The others, your friends, they won't mind?"

Zelgaddis shook his head, nothing more than a silhouette against the dimming embers. "Not if you can cook like that out on the road; Lina and Gourry are in love with your cooking, and Amelia won't complain about anything she's such a ray of sunshine. Xellos, well, none of us really cares what he thinks anyway." Mayaki looked hesitant, so Zelgaddis added, "And if they do have any complaints about the matter, they can take it up with me."

The girl nodded and set down her bundle. "All right then. I'll go get some sleep."

Zel nodded, settling himself back on the mattress. "Good girl." She smiled to him and headed back to her room. He laid back and folded his hands behind his head. *I just saved a damsel in distress, * he thought. It felt good. *And I didn't lift a finger to do it. Beat that, Gourry.* Smiling to himself, he turned over and drifted off to sleep.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncracies!


	4. Chapter 3: Roadtrip Revelations

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo! 

Chapter 3: Roadtrip Revelations 

Lina stood out in front of the inn, looking impatient. Gourry, standing beside her, took in their surroundings, the road, the town, the forest. "Sure is peaceful around here," he said aloud, just before Lina shattered this illusion.

"What's taking them so long this morning?! Let's go!"

Xellos appeared on her right. "Well, _I_ was ready a long time ago! Why didn't you say anything?"

Lina grumbled something at him, but was interrupted as Amelia jogged up. "Here I am! Are we ready to go? Wait, where's Mister Zelgaddis?"

"Come on, Zel! You're holding us up!" Lina shouted.

"That's funny," Gourry observed, almost thoughtfully... a rare occurrence in itself. "Zelgaddis is usually ready to go long before any of the rest of us..."

After a few moments, Zel finally appeared at the door, wearing both his hood and facemask.

"Huh?" Lina blinked. "That's not like him at all..." As she and the others watched, he held the door, allowing the girl who had cooked them dinner to pass through before closing it.

"Goodbye, Ari! Take good care of things! I'll write!" she called back before Zel closed the door. Mayaki was dressed in a brownish-burgundy hooded cape, a long red and blue dress suited to traveling and a pair of dark walking boots. "I'm ready to go finally, everyone! I'm sorry if I've made you all a bit late." She sparkled, and her grin showed just how eager she was to leave the little town. 

"You all remember Miss Mayaki from last night, I'm sure," Zelgaddis said in tones that left very little open for argument. "She'll be traveling with us for a while."

"Ooooookay..." Lina said slowly, "well, six heads are better than one, I suppose."

Xellos capered by on the air. "Not in the case of monsters, however," he crowed, turning to float on his back. Mayaki gasped slightly and stared at the sight. The Mazoku priest sensed her eyes on him and caught her gaze for a second. Despite all the mischief on his face, he cocked his head, looking curious and puzzled. She noticed his attention, though, and quickly dropped her eyes to focus on her boot-toes.

"Her eyes..." he said aloud, though barely audible. The trickster continued to look at Mayaki for another few moments, thinking to himself. *There's something strange about this human,* his mind told him, but he dismissed it as he realized Lina was talking to him.

"What did you just say, Xellos?"

"Oh, nothing important. You were saying?"

"I said, surely there must be some lovely six-headed beauty out there in the Astral plane just waiting for you to come and sweep her off her talons or tentacles, or whatever."

He waved her away. "Don't be silly! The only thing I'm attracted to is chaos! You know that by now I'm sure, Lina."

"So all that flirting with Filia when we were searching for the Five Weapons?"

Xellos chuckled. "Exactly! Just a ruse. She had the most negative emotions toward me... I'll always be fond of the time we spent together. Ahh, memories.." he sighed mockingly. Lina eyed him suspiciously. He laughed. "Lina, Lina, Lina... I forget sometimes how human you are! Flirting is only flirting and nothing more. Did you actually think I could be in l... In l... with a dragon? Oh, please!"

"I guess not. Being in love would probably make you more insane than you already are." The girl shrugged. "Still, what could be more chaotic than a Mazoku-dragon coupling? I'd think that would be more appealing to your Mazoku nature than anything."

"Lina!" the demon whined and blushed.

"Easy, Xellos, I was just kidding."

* * * * *

"So where is it we're headed, exactly?" Mayaki asked an hour later, completely disoriented from the twists and turns inn the road. Her feet were sore from so much walking and she was tired, and she knew she'd miss her bed at the inn tonight if they were going to be out in the wild.

"Telgen City," Lina answered her. "Legend has it there's some grail there that grants wishes. Of course, most of these legends are just silly superstitions and mumbo-jumbo, but it's worth a shot." The sorceress shrugged. "Might make a pretty penny selling it at least. We probably won't get there by nightfall. Your friend was right... your village is pretty remote."

"But it has the best food! Well, it _had_ the best food," Gourry added. "But now that you're traveling with us, we can have that kind of feast every night and -OW!" he rubbed his head where Lina had bonked him.

"Jellyfish brain... she didn't bring the kitchen with her!"

Mayaki giggled at the two of them. "Well, camp cooking isn't really my area of expertise, but I'll sure give it a good try!"

Lina gave a leap in the air. "All right! I can hardly wait... in fact, let's make camp right here! Amelia, get some firewood! Gourry, Zel..."

"Hold it, hold it," Zelgaddis said, steering her back onto the road by her shoulders. "We've still got a good couple of hours to walk if we're going to reach the city by tomorrow."

The sorceress looked crestfallen. "Why are you always trying to starve me to death, Zel?"

Zelgaddis rolled his eyes and let go of her, then dropped his pace a little to match Mayaki's. "How are you holding up?" he asked her.

She gave him a bit of a painful smile. "All right, I suppose."

Zel nodded once in acknowledgment. "Don't press yourself too hard, Mayaki. The rest of us are used to walking all day, but you..."

She held up a hand to interrupt him before he really got started. "I'll be fine, Mr. Zelgaddis. Just because I know how to cook doesn't mean I spend all day standing around my stove."

The chimaera gave her an approving smile, and the two walked on in an awkward silence. Mayaki looked at her feet and tapped her fingers together nervously. There had to be _some_thing she could talk with him about... She glanced sideways, then jerked them back when she noticed he was looking at her. She tried to think of something-please, gods, anything!-to say...

He beat her to it. "So... why were you trying to sneak off in the night so late?"

Mayaki's face flushed... she wasn't supposed to have gotten caught by anyone. If all had gone well in the first place, though, she wouldn't have had to leave. "Well, it's... no one in the town really wants me there," she said at long last. "Except for Ari, that is. They said I was a bad omen. They said I was never have supposed to have been born." She held her hands up to her eyes to block the tears, shook her head a couple of times, and that was the end of it. The rest of her tears she dried on the back of her sleeve. Zel put a supportive hand on her shoulder. She couldn't help but feel the weight of it. Curiously, she peered up into his veiled face. She realized that she hadn't so much as caught a glimpse of his face yet. Last night's dinner was a blur-the kind of blur that Mayaki loved and thrived on-and she hadn't had time to look the guests over; then he was silhouetted by the fire and she hadn't been able to make out any of his features; and now he had this veil on... It was so puzzling.

"Why do you cover yourself up so, Mister Greywords? What is it _you're_ hiding from?" She peered deeply into his deep blue eyes. He seemed to freeze to the spot. Was he afraid to tell her? A word caught in his throat. He was about to say something when she looked away, not giving him the chance, turning her eyes back to the road.

Zelgaddis followed, still dumbstruck. He couldn't keep it from her forever. He wasn't even sure how long she was staying with them...he wasn't sure she knew either. Besides, better to get the formalities out of the way here in the woods rather than panic the poor girl-and everyone else present-when they stopped at an inn... He reached up and unhooked the veil, tucked it back into his hood, then pushed his hood back too.

"Mayaki..." he called softly. She turned back to look at him over her shoulder, stumbled and shied a bit as she took in his foreign appearance, but she never uttered a sound. Her face was stretched with the shock, though she never let fear betray it. He nodded once slowly to affirm what she was seeing. The two of them stopped in the road and stared at one another. Amelia caught up and passed them, leading their packhorse. As she did, she looked back over her shoulder and gave Mayaki a hard glare before turning to the road.

Mayaki carefully stretched a hand toward his face. Zelgaddis ducked his head obligingly. She felt across his stone skin carefully and ran her hand through the wire bristles of his hair. Still, she said not a word, though her eyes filled, brimming with tears that said much more than her lips. She reached her arms underneath his and embraced his stone body tightly, resting her head gently on his chest.

"Living stone," she breathed heavily. "Not human..."

He put a gentle hand on her back. "This is why we're traveling. So that someday I won't be trapped in this damned stone prison."

"There is a magic cure for it?" Mayaki asked curiously.

"Somewhere," he replied steadily, "there is a cure for everything." Without a word or a glance, the chimaera headed after the group at his own pace, trailing a pensive Mayaki behind him.

* * * * *

Night was falling before they stopped to make camp for the evening. Small whirring and skittering and clicking creatures everywhere were beginning to waken and go about their small-creature errands. One of Atlas's moons was just beginning its ascent over the eastern horizon. Somewhere off to the side of the winding little road, there was Lina, shouting a command for a small fireball to start their campfire for the night. Mayaki observed all this even as she took in the exact position of the rabbits in front of her. There were four of them now; the two directly out front, one a bit further off and a little to the right, and now this one, a young silver rabbit, that had just come out of the burrow. Another instant, and Mayaki sprang from the treebranch. Four small spines cracked, the snapping of tiny bones breaking, and the little clearing was motionless.

Mayaki moved to pick up her prey. It had felt good... she'd needed to kill something. Another part of her was sympathetic and mourned for the poor bunnies. At least they hadn't felt anything. Probably hadn't even had time to feel fear, she'd killed them so quickly. With the other two she'd already caught, that made a brace and a half. Surely that would be enough for dinner. With the salad and twice-baked stuffed tubers and crustless pie she could make once Amelia returned from picking berries it ought to be enough.. then again, she had seen the way Lina and Gourry could eat. She chuckled to herself. "With my luck, I'll burn it all to cinders on my first try..." She had never tried cooking on a campfire before, and was rather nervous about the outcome.

"So, caught enough food, have we, little huntress?"

Mayaki startled. Xellos floated down to her level, light as a feather.

"I knew there was something interesting about you, Miss Mayaki Sora," he smirked. "It was obvious from the start that you were hiding something from us."

Mayaki looked panicked and extremely embarrassed. *If they knew, would they still let me stay?* she wondered.

Xellos brightened and tilted her chin up with his fingers. "Now, now, my dear, don't you worry about getting caught in the act. It'll be our little secret." He held up a finger, sealing his lips. "Lina and the others can tell you how good I am at keeping one, too. Now how about coming back to camp, hmm?" He offered a hand to help her from her knees to her feet.

Mayaki refused to meet the Mazoku's eyes. "Thank you..." she murmured softly.

"After all, you can't deny your nature forever," Xellos taunted.

"I can deny it for as long as I must," she replied coolly and shoved past him, heading for camp. She heard Lina and Gourry laughing about something together, and thought about Zelgaddis.

* * * * *

By no small miracle, Mayaki's wonderful cooking kept even Lina and Gourry sated. The group sat around the camp chatting and setting up their bedrolls. Lina patted her full stomach before moving to set up her own. She said something about not being able to move with a stomach that full. "Man, Mayaki! I've never had such good food, barring last night's! Where did you learn so much about cooking?"

Mayaki blushed. The meal hadn't been as good as it could have been, she knew. It lacked the white gravy she usually prepared to go with roast rabbit, and they really weren't at their best unless they had a cored and spiced apple roasted inside the chest cavity. She'd done her best though, for the circumstances. "Thank you, Miss Lina." She bowed slightly. "My mother was a great cook. She taught me all I know about cooking. And there are a few things I picked up by experimenting... tinkering with the recipes until they were just right."

Gourry took most of this in blankly. "Sounds complicated. I'm going to bed. G'night girls!" he waved casually and strolled over to his spot on the outskirts of their little camp.

"'Night, Gourry!" Lina called after him with a smile and yawned. "I think I'm gonna hit the hey too. 'Night Mayaki, Amelia!"

Mayaki smiled and waved her fingers at Lina quietly, then turned back to staring into the fire. Across from her, on the other side of the merry blaze, sat Amelia, with a permanent scowl etched on her face since the moment Mayaki had joined the group. Amelia blinked as she realized Mayaki was staring at her. She looked right back, but not without a hint of bitterness. The princess was maybe two years younger than Mayaki, though in her seriousness almost seemed to be much younger, pouting and sullen because she couldn't have something she wanted, or having got caught at something she shouldn't have been doing.

Mayaki finally broke the awkwardness between them by getting up and sitting next to Amelia.

"Nice night, isn't it?"

"Hmm," said Amelia, still in her sulky mood.

"Look, I know there's something bothering you about me. Want to talk about it?"

"No," the girl said shortly and turned her back on Mayaki.

She blinked in confusion. "Come on... I can't help you out if you don't tell me what it is I'm doing to upset you." When Amelia refused to even dignify her with a response, she reached out a hand and put it on the girl's shoulder. "Hey..."

Amelia nearly exploded. "I'm fine and it's his life anyway so just leave me alone!" Tears streaming from her eyes, Amelia jerked away from the cook and ran to bury her head in her bedroll. Mayaki stared after her, wondering what she'd done.

"My, my, that certainly went well, didn't it?" Xellos said, floating up behind the dumbfounded girl.

"Shut up," Mayaki groaned, heading for her own bedroll. Xellos smirked after her, chuckling to himself.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncracies!

BTW: Mayaki's name is literally (or so I have gathered, since I don't know much Japanese) ma (evil) + yaki (to cook)... The weird thing is, I didn't do this on purpose; I picked her name out of thin air. o.0 This is called a psychic twitch.


	5. Chapter 4: A New Threat

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo! 

Chapter 4: A New Threat

The group of travelers journeyed on after an equally wonderful breakfast from Mayaki. Zelgaddis and Mayaki walked side by side, chatting together cheerfully about this thing and that. Amelia, who led the horse on in front of them, ground her teeth and observed to herself, *Mister Zelgaddis is never that talkative around me! What does he see in her anyway? She's no champion of justice. Not even a princess... just some peasant. Is it really true that you can get to a man's heart through his stomach, I wonder?*

Behind her, Zel made some subtle, dry joke to Mayaki, and she burst out laughing. Amelia pointedly ignored her and turned her nose up at them.

* * * * *

"This looks like a good place for lunch," Lina decided, wandering off the road and into a little clearing, dropping her pack from her back and all but collapsing on the fresh green spread of grass. "Okay, Mayaki! What have we got for lunch today?"

The little cook bowed slightly and announced, "I was thinking cold meat sandwiches, but really, there's nothing I can do for a cold meat sandwich that anyone with one hand can't do as well."

Lina groaned. "But...but Mayakiii.." she whined.

Zel scolded her. "Mayaki's right. I think she needs a break from cooking for you all the time. We can put together lunch for ourselves." Mayaki gave him a grateful smile. He caught it out of the corner of his eye and quirked a grin back at her. Amelia glared at the two of them, unnoticed from the other side of the clearing as she tied the packhorse to let him graze.

Mayaki set her things down and took off her boots to rest her sore feet. She had never walked so much in her life! For now, it still hurt like the dickens to get up in the morning, though she knew that would pass. Her feet would toughen up and her legs would get stronger as she became accustomed to walking all day. She wondered to herself where she was even going. How long would she travel with Zel and the others? Where would she stop, and what would she do there? Would they accept her there as they hadn't in her own village? There was so much that she hadn't thought out when she left... she was a wanderer now.

Mayaki's ears perked up as she heard a rustle in the bushes. She looked around suspiciously. "Did you guys hear that?" she interrupted the conversation between Lina and Gourry.

"Probably just a deer," Lina waved, brushing her off.

Mayaki had seen-and caught-several deer. She hadn't heard any of them rustle in the brush like that when they were eating or moving...

"I don't think it's-"

A bolt of magic flew from the bushes straight for them. Amelia shrieked and flinched as it sailed past her and into Gourry. Even the swordsman's reaction time wasn't enough to spare him from being hit with the freeze arrow and pinned to the spot. His lower body was frozen in place, on one foot and one knee, hands grasping the hilt of his Sword of Light. He was encased in ice up to the neck.

Lina startled to her feet, as did the rest of the group, to face their yet unseen adversary. Zelgaddis unsheathed his sword and stood by the defenseless Mayaki,. Lina activated the talismans she wore and focused her energies and Amelia prepared to throw a spell at whatever came through the bushes at them.

Mayaki crouched behind Zelgaddis in terror. If she could reach the horse, she would have an adequate weapon to fend off an attack on herself in her cooking knives... She patted her bodice to make sure her dagger was somewhere she could get it easily if she needed to. 

Lina looked up. "Darkness beyond twilight, Crimson beyond blood that flows... Buried in the stream of time is wh-at the Hell?!" Lina's spell was also lost as someone grabbed her from behind and his partner tied her wrists together.

Zelgaddis readied a Ra Tilt spell and peered around the clearing with a scowl on his face. He heard something behind him and half turned, just in time to be caught from behind by another freeze arrow. He shouted as he was also frozen up to his neck. The spell lost its momentum and died out. "Amelia! Mayaki! Run!" he shouted.

Mayaki and Amelia exchanged glances, then turned to flee into the woods. Amelia summoned a spell, tossing it behind them as they ran. "Flare Arrow! Oh!" Someone on her side tripped her and the spell went flying over the tops of the trees, causing no damage to their assaulters. She was pinned down and soon her wrists were tied as well.

Mayaki poured all the energy she could muster into the run for the edge of the clearing, where she would at least have some cover. She was almost there when the leader of the bandits stepped out in front of her. She ran smack into him with a startled gasp and rebounded, slightly dazed by the impact. He smiled lecherously down at her, being half-again her height and at least twice as wide through the chest. "Hel-lo," he said cheerfully. "Having a nice picnic, were we?"

She stumbled backward, fumbling with her bodice to get the dagger free. She finally managed to draw it and held it up defensively in front of her. She swept her vision across the clearing, looking for some way out or some source of help. There were a dozen or more robbers, Zel and Gourry encased in ice, Lina thrashing about in the grasp of her captors, Amelia face-down in the dirt, and, above it all, Xellos lazily floating on his back and deflecting the spells of the two mages with one hand. 

Mayaki was horrified to see another man as big as the bandit leader approaching her out of the bushes from the left. "Xellos! Help me!" she cried as she faced both men at once, brandishing the dagger at them timidly.

Xellos casually looked back at her with a smile. "I think you can do quite well on your own, Miss Sora," he smirked at her, tossing the mages' Freeze Arrows right back at them. They jumped to the side out of the spells' paths, never having had their magic turned against them before and not entirely sure what was to be done about it.

Lina growled, straining against the two men trying to subdue her as one held her and the other tried to tie her ankles as well. "Xellos! You slime! Help us out here!" The bandit behind her received a vicious kick to the jaw and fell back swearing.

Xellos peeked over at Mayaki, who was being carefully backed against a tree without realizing it. "I think Miss Sora has everything well in hand here," he winked. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more important things to attend to," he said shortly and disappeared.

"Xellos, you backstabbing little wretch!" Zelgaddis yelled after him, too little, too late.

Mayaki looked up in time to see the Mazoku disappear. "No!" she whimpered. 

The bandit on her left rushed her, slamming her arm into the tree trunk. The dagger was jarred out of her hand and dropped harmlessly on the grass. Her arms were pinned to the tree with one of the large man's hands. "I like this one, Race. She looks like she has some fight in her." Mayaki's eyes went wide with panic.

The bandit leader waved him onward. "Go on, have your fun with her. You've earned it, for what we'll clean up here."

* * * * *

Across the clearing, Lina tried a last-ditch effort at a spell; one she didn't need her hands for. "Levitation!" She kicked off the ground, pulling one of her enemies along with her. Unfortunately, the other one managed to get a grip on her before she could get away and dragged her back to the ground, where she was promptly thrown down and sat on while she spat out dirt from the struggle. 

"Lina!" Gourry yelled, struggling to get free of the icy prison.

Zel, watching Mayaki's fate closely, fought with all his strength against the binding ice. "You so much as touch her, you slime, and I'll-"

"-and you'll what?" the one called Race answered him, striding over to him. "In case you'd forgotten, lad, you're a bit nailed to the spot." The head bandit leered at him, smirking. He walked away, toward Lina. "And this little fireball must be the famous Lina Inverse. Otherwise known as the Bandit Killer, I believe?" he asked rhetorically, bending to look her in the face as she struggled under the weight of the two men. She looked up and snarled at him. 

"Let me up and we'll see just how many of you I can kill."

He smiled back at her. "Charming," he mocked. "But as you see, Miss Inverse, my friends and I seem to have gained the upper hand here. You're not going to be killing many bandits while you're face down in the dirt, I think." A shriek from Mayaki carried across the clearing. "Your Mazoku friend seems to have deserted you in your moment of need. You never can trust them, really. First sign of trouble, and they're nowhere to be seen."

"Who are you? What do you want from us?"

"Why, the bounty on your heads, of course, Miss Inverse. You do know, certainly, how much damage you have caused all across Atlas. There is many a town and city that would pay to see you punished, you know. Many an individual too, no doubt. So we'll be selling the lot of you off to the highest bidder."

Mayaki screamed again and there was the sound of a well-placed kick meeting flesh, as well as a "why you little..." from the man who held her. "As to my name," the man continued, "You may know me as Race Quim." Lina glared at him. "Men, you may begin relieving them of their valuables at o-What in the world is that?!"

* * * * *

Mayaki whimpered as her wrists were firmly tied to the tree. She knew what would happen if she couldn't get away... but she also knew what would have to happen if she was going to. Maybe there was still a way? Still time?

The man started by running his hand up her ankle, pushing her petticoats aside and feeling up her thigh. He looked up at her face and licked his lips lecherously. Mayaki shrieked. "Hentai!! Get away from me!" She struggled against the rope and only found it getting tighter for her effort.

"I like you, sweetheart. You've got spirit. Always better when they fight back."

Mayaki screamed again as he attempted to kiss her. She swung a foot at his groin and hit flesh. The effect would have been much better if she'd had some aim and hadn't hit his thigh instead. She paled. "Oops.." she said to herself. "Out of options."

"Why you little..." the man retorted, grabbing her leg as she tried to withdraw it. Apparently he wasn't fond of _that_ sort of fight in a girl. He lifted her skirts over her knee, getting closer to his goal. Mayaki growled with rage as it built up inside her. The brigand laughed heartily over at his associates, who stared. 

He shook his head and looked back, expecting to find something fleshy and pink. What he did see was rosey-colored... it was also very angry and had lots of teeth. The man fell backward in terror, beholding the horrible sight that had once been a timid young girl.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

BTW: Psychic twitch #2 occurred when I was chatting with a friend whom I had not seen in months. Turns out a character she had designed--Miyuki--looked eerily like Mayaki's wyvern form.

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	6. Chapter 5: No Longer a Secret

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo! 

Chapter 5: No Longer a Secret

The man fell backward in terror, beholding the horrible sight that had once been a timid young girl. Its two feet, at the end of backbent legs, ended in three terrible claws. A tail tipped with what liked like two scythes back to back lashed behind the beast. It whipped around the tree in a smooth stroke and cut the rope that held the creature to the tree by its two-clawed wing talons. Freed, the creature spread its long thin wings out to its sides, revealing the golden-yellow plating that ran up the length of its tail to its jaw, which was easily two feet long and, to the robber's dismay, filled with close to a thousand sharp, needle-like teeth. The creature's eyes blazed an angry gold as it breathed heavily down on him, glaring through a frame of russet-burgundy manes. It shook its head slightly in disapproval, showing off two long and sharp demon's horns, which curved back through its hair along the line of its forehead.

"Airrraaaaaaak!" it said, buffeting him with a gust from its wings as it closed them. 

"Aaaaauuugh!!" the bandit answered, scuttling backward like a crab, fearing that this horrible image would be the last that he ever saw. He was right. As Race called out, "What in the world is that?!" Mayaki reached out with one clawed foot and with a downward swipe, slashed him across the eyes with it.

The man screamed in panic and sought to find the ground with his feet. He ran blindly into the forest, feeling his way with his hands and not doing very well at it. Mayaki glared at him and turned away with a snort, deciding that was satisfactory, and leapt into the clearing to save her friends.

She crashed into the center of the little field like a spear of lightning, immediately the focus of everyone's attention. "Raaaakk..." she said harshly.

One of the mages, arguably the dumber of the two, was first to challenge her with a Freeze Arrow spell. She used the same tactic Xellos had to turn the bolt of magic around and send it back at its caster. The bolt struck the lad in the chest, freezing him solid. 

"Onni!" his friend shouted, approaching to try to rescue the frosted mage, but having other thoughts as Mayaki sizzled reptilianly into his path, hissing like water on a griddle. The young man immediately reversed his course. Many of the other bandits saw this as a good opportunity to retreat and did so, fleeing into the woods in many directions.

Race and his remaining few comrades circled up around their new opponent, swords and daggers drawn. Mayaki's golden eyes flitted from one to the next, waiting for the attack. Finally it came, from a young and probably still green marauder. He rushed at her from behind, sword lifted in an intent to sever her legs off. Mayaki wasn't about to let that happen, however. She turned and met the full swing of the sword with her belly, the plating turning the blade as if it had hit metal armor. The youth stumbled past her and she kicked him in the gut, loosing his entrails and sending his dead weight sprawling into one of his friends.

Attacks came from all sides then, the robbers enraged by the loss of their comrades. They'd lost two of their number already, not counting everyone who had fled into the woods. The remaining five slashed and hacked at the creature with all their skill, and it still wasn't enough to save their hides. One met his fate when he found his neck trapped between Mayaki's teeth. Another was scratched across the face by a wing-talon and subsequently trampled in the battle as she ran over the top of him in a counterattack. The creature spun around like a whirling dervish and caught another brigand in the chest with her tail, which sunk in deep like a pickax. 

Race saw his chance as the monster beat her wings and tried to grab her foe in one of her claws, preventing him from striking. Her own wing prevented her from seeing him coming up behind her. He plunged his sword into her haunch and ran for the trees as she snatched the other man's head in her jaws and easily snapped his neck. The beast screamed in agony and lashed its tail frantically in back of it. Race dropped to the ground and rolled until he was out of its range, then bounded to his feet and ran for the cover of the trees. Race Quim hadn't lived this long without knowing how to live to fight another day! And fight he would... no creature, human, Mazoku or God, would get away with killing six of his best, bravest men. The beast would pay with its own life, Race swore it.

* * * * *

Mayaki was nearly paralyzed by the waves of pain from the sword piercing her unarmored leg. She and her last opponent fell at the same time, one dead and the other in pain. She tried to twist around and pull the sword out with her teeth, to no avail. She just couldn't get the right angle to pull it free, and even though she could hook the hilt with her scythe-tail, it wasn't strong enough to pull it free of the wound. Every time she moved in a new direction, the blade only felt like it was cutting deeper. "Aaaiirrrk!" she wailed.

Lina, Zelgaddis, Gourry, and Amelia all stared at the monster that moments before, had been their friend. It was all a mystery, but it was one likely to go unsolved unless one of them could somehow get free.

Lina finally voiced an idea, going solely on the chance that Mayaki was still in there somewhere. "I can heal you if you can cut the ropes on my hands free, Mayaki. Can you make it over to me?"

"Aaak..." the creature replied weakly, nodded once, and began pulling herself along the ground by her wing-talons. It was a struggle to haul her body along by her fragile wings... they certainly weren't designed for ground transport. To help herself along, she stuck her long beak out as far as it would reach and used her stronger neck muscles to aid her frail wings. 

When she was close enough, she maneuvered her tail into place, set against the rope on Lina's wrists. Lina did her part to saw the rope back and forth against the razor-sharp tail. She flinched slightly, wary that the monster might just be leading her on. Mazoku and their relatives were, more or less, pretty consistent at doing just that.

The rope finally cut through and Lina was able to free her hands. Mayaki carefully lay her tail down in the grass, exhausted from the effort and losing blood from her haunch to boot. The redheaded sorceress sat up on her knees and unknotted the bonds on her ankles. She stared at Mayaki, and then at the trail of blood that she'd left in crossing the field. She'd lost a lot of blood... it was practically a miracle she was still alive at all. The monster lay spread-eagled, breathing shallowly. She didn't seem to be weaving a deception, at least, but then again, you could never tell until you were caught in one...

"Lina! What are you waiting for? Heal her!" Zelgaddis demanded, struggling against the ice that still encased him. 

"All right, all right! Don't even give a girl a moment to get her bearings!" Lina reached out and pulled the sword from Mayaki's haunch, careful not to damage the muscle further. Tossing the blade aside, she focused her energy and directed it toward Mayaki. "Healing!"

The muscles in Mayaki's leg writhed and knit themselves back together, good as they had ever been. The skin sealed itself as well, leaving not a mark where the horrible injury had been. The pain lessened immediately, and was soon gone altogether. Mayaki both looked and felt a lot better... except that as she was fumbling to stand back up, she realized that the current crisis wasn't over yet.

As Lina hurriedly cast low-grade fireballs at Gourry and Zel to thaw them out, Mayaki trotted over to Amelia, who shuddered slightly in fear. The creature let out a long snort that could have been interpreted as a sigh and held its tail toward Amelia for her to cut the ropes with. After a motionless moment between them, Amelia realized the creature's intent and used the tail to saw through the ropes holding her. "Thank you," she said softly. The monster looked back at her. Its golden eyes seemed so soft and full of sadness. After a moment, the Mayaki-creature turned away and crossed the clearing in a kind of hop-walk, its legs not designed for striding. "Oh..." Amelia uttered, feeling sympathy for the beast.

Mayaki hopped up on a stump and preened herself embarrassedly once she saw that everyone had been taken care of. Lina approached her as she nipped at an itchy spot on her wing, but startled back as Xellos appeared out of nowhere between them.

"Well, it looks as if everything is all sorted out here again," he chirped merrily. "Except for Miss Mayaki, of course."

Zelgaddis snorted. "No thanks to you on either count."

Xellos brushed him off and floated over to Mayaki, who glared at him hatefully. "Congratulations, Miss Sora! You certainly seem to have won the day. Pity you weren't better at keeping this a secret, though. You really could have had a lot of fun with it." He tapped her playfully on the head with the end of his staff.

"Reccck!" snarled Mayaki.

"Now, now, Miss Sora... what a rude thing to say! It's very unladylike."

Lina blinked, but Amelia said the exact words crawling through Lina's mind.. "You can understand her? That's really still Miss Mayaki?"

The Mazoku priest chuckled. "Of course I can understand her. She IS part Mazoku, after all. Aren't you, Miss Sora?" That earned him another glare. "Perhaps Miss Mayaki herself would like to explain it?" he offered.

Mayaki closed her eyes and nodded her head once, then began reverting to her human form. Wisps of pale green mist swirled around her as wings shrank back into arms, the horns retreated, and jaws and teeth drew back into her face, leaving it human once more. Her tail lashed about wildly like a rope being jerked about by some unseen force. The scythe at its end eventually folded closed on itself and the tail withdrew beneath Mayaki's skirts as her legs finished transforming back into human ones. The mists vanished and she looked up sadly, especially at Zelgaddis. "This is why I left my village. I'm sorry, everyone, I really am..." she whispered.

"Sorry? You're SORRY?? You save all of our lives and you're SORRY??!" Lina shook her head and laughed. "Maybe I'm a little biased here, but I think it's kind of a good thing"

"Yes!" Amelia added, springing up into a tree with a dramatic pose. "Life is wonderful and everyone should live to enjoy every moment, every breath! It should be treasured above all things! Isn't that right, Mister Xellos?"

Xellos shuddered and began backing away from the little justice crusader. After a moment he even put his hands over his ears to block out the sound. "Please... someone make her stop..."

Mayaki made it a special point to ignore him. "I should have told you all before. I'm sorry."

Gourry patted her on the shoulder. "Don't let that get you down. Xellos traveled with us for a whole two months before he admitted he was a monster. But he can't cook to save his life." Lina elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow! What was that for?"

"You're not helping any! Go find some firewood. We may as well set up camp before Mayaki gets into her story."

"Right!" The swordsman ran off cheerily to gather an armload of wood.

Mayaki looked around at the carnage of bodies and parts of them, as well as the blood littering the field, then brightened. "I'll get some things ready for dinner!" she giggled, heading for the packhorse. 

Lina stopped her for an instant. "Are you sure you're up to it, Mayaki? I mean, we can always get by..."

"'Course I'm up to it! Wielding a knife at some defenseless vegetables always helps me to relax!" She took out a sharp-looking knife and a frying pan, holding both up with a brilliant smile. "I know right where we can get some steaks too, if anyone wants." She pointed the frying pan at one of the dead bodies on the ground. Everyone froze, looking stunned and disgusted, except for Xellos, who raised his hand and waved it eagerly over his head. Mayaki wilted slightly. "It was a joke, you guys. Somebody wanna clear out our friends the bandits?"

"On it..." Zel and Lina said simultaneously, dashing away from Mayaki. Amelia began berating Xellos afresh until the poor Mazoku was cowering on the ground, not even able to move. Mayaki made it a special point to step on him as she bustled about the camp preparing things. He didn't even seem to notice, darn him.

"Make it stop...." He whined.

* * * * *

"My mother was human," she began, once the group had been fed and was sitting around the fire waiting for her tale. "She lived in Telgen City. Her cooking was famous around the area. Everyone knew who Talia Avi-Sora was. If you didn't, you soon got directed straight to her restaurant! Not a tourist or traveler passed through without trying her food. And all of them-every last one-swore it was the best they'd had in their lives.

"One dark, rainy night, a man came to the restaurant. They knew he was a sorcerer because when he stepped inside, he was completely dry. He wore a traveler's cloak and walking boots, and carried a long walking staff. His hood covered his eyes and he never took it off or pushed it back... he was quite a mysterious character. My mother waited on him herself, asking if he would like something to eat. He declined, but asked for a glass of water and inquired about a place to stay. Then he took out a small book and appeared to read it. My mother never asked the man any questions, just gave the customer what he wanted and went about cooking and serving some of the patrons, checking back with him now and then to see if he wanted to order anything. 'Nothing,' he said. 'Nothing but to sit and rest awhile.'

"He stayed long into the night, until my mother approached him to let him know that the restaurant was closing. He got up, kissed her hand, thanked her kindly, and headed back into the night.

"The next evening, there he was again. Same cloak down past his eyes, same book, same request for only a glass of water and to rest for a little while. And, right before closing, he thanked my mother and kissed her hand graciously. He was there the following night as well, and every night for the next week, and the next. Never wanted food, despite the entire town's recommendations. No one ever seemed to see him during the day, and no one saw him coming or going. My mother even asked around at the various inns in the area to see if she could find out where he was staying, or if anyone knew anything about him. It irritated her to no end that she could find out _nothing_ about him, not even his name!

"One night she got curious enough-or angry enough, rather-to ask him who he was and what business he had coming to a restaurant and not ordering food.

" 'Miss Sora,' he told her, which surprised her because she didn't know he knew her name, 'it is not your food I require to nourish me, though I hear it is a wonder of the world to taste. Rather, it is your company I crave and thirst for; though I ask for water to quench it, it does nothing for the thirst of a dry and empty soul.'

"My mother was completely sympathetic. She asked him what kind of a nut he was and told him to get out. He persisted though.

" 'Milady, my name is Elric Debarro. I have traveled the world 'round and never found anyone so beautiful or full of sense as you. I am a lonely man and I wish to stop my wandering and take a wife, raise a family if the fates allow. I am a man of great means, if that is what you desire, but without you I feel as poor as a pauper. Please, lady, take pity on my humblest of souls... I cannot bear to live if it is not a life with you in it.' At this point, he pushed back his hood, revealing the most handsome yellow-golden eyes to her, and asked her to marry him.

"My mother was swept off her feet by the man, and she agreed on the spot. They found a priest of one of the local temples and were married that very evening. 

"Around the same time, a terrible red wyvern was terrorizing the countryside... killing people, burning crops, tearing up houses, the whole bit..."

"Wait a sec, a wyvern?" Lina interrupted. "What's-"

"I believe I can answer that," Xellos broke in. "With Miss Mayaki's permission, of course," he jeered. She narrowed her eyes at him but waved him on. "You're too kind," he said with a bow.

"I know," she growled at him.

Xellos grinned wider at her, then turned back to the group. "Before the time of the War of the Monster's Fall, a time came that the Ryuzoku, the Dragon Race, seemed to be turning their backs on the Mazoku, the Evil Race, trying to wash their hands of us completely. We couldn't just put up with that, of course... striving for chaos meant that everyone had to be involved. Ruby Eye knew this, and came up with an idea so insulting to the Dragon Race that there could never be any peace between the two races, guaranteeing the existence of chaos for as long as the world exists. He created the wyverns as a mockery of the dragons, an evil mirror of the Ryuzoku. Where the dragons honored and celebrated life, wyverns were set on destroying it."

Lina looked over at Amelia. "Remind me never to introduce Mayaki and Filia," she mumbled, jerking her head at Mayaki with an indicating nod. Amelia nodded fervently. 

"They were so efficient at destroying life that the dragons were forced into action," Xellos continued. "One of their most powerful priests found a spell that gave the wyverns such a handicap that from that day to this, its equal has never been found. When the wyverns awoke that evening to begin their rampages, they found that they had no arms... only their wings remained. When they fought against the dragons that besieged them, they didn't stand a chance, not being able to grapple with their opponents. The Dragon Race drove them out, making them retreat to the Astral Plane. Though, apparently, some of them found sufficient hiding places. Human camouflage is so convenient sometimes.." He looked behind him at Mayaki, opening his eyes to stare at her. "Isn't it, Miss Sora?"

"Could we get back to Mayaki's story now please?" Zelgaddis said boredly.

"By all means," Xellos smirked.

Mayaki bowed slightly, even though she continued to glare at the monster. "As I said, it was widely known that the wyvern was attacking the countryside. The correlation that was never made was that the rampages never took place during the times that Elric was in town with my mother. When they married and he began spending more time with her, the frequency of the attacks slackened. My mother, living in the city, never heard much about this and so she could have never suspected anything was amiss. Elric was always good to her... she never could have suspected him of being so evil at heart... except that he never told her he actually _loved _her. He doted on her all the time that they were together, bought her trinkets, even taught her a few magic spells. But he never said outright that he loved her. He danced around the subject whenever she brought it up, and somehow always managed to convince her that he did even though he never said it."

"In fact, monsters are incapable of saying any such thing," Xellos added. "Saying..." he shuddered slightly, "...THAT... probably would have killed him."

"So monsters can't love," Lina summed up.

Amelia looked slightly tearful. "How sad." After a moment she burst out in tears of pity. "Poor Mister Xellos! No wonder you're always doing evil things! You're only trying to compensate for not being able to love anyone! It's so sad!" Everyone stared at her, rather nervously.

"Take it easy, Amelia! It's just Xellos, after all.." Zelgaddis assured her.

Xellos peeked out from behind Mayaki. "Is she done yet?"

Mayaki screeched and pushed him over. "Get away from me!"

The Mazoku priest spun around and floated past her, tapping her on the head again with his staff. "Whatever you say, kitten."

"Agh! Stop that!!" she shouted in annoyance.

Zelgaddis sighed. "Mayaki? Your story?"

Mayaki blinked. "Oh! Right. Sorry.

"Talia soon came to find that she was with child. My father was overjoyed. He said that there was nothing in the world that would please him more than to have offspring. I suppose that much was the truth, though my mother didn't know that a wyvern was growing inside her.

"And then one day, about five months into my mother's pregnancy, Elric up and disappeared without a trace. Again, my mother asked around to see if anyone had seen him leave, but, of course, no one had. Outside of town, the wyvern attacks also stopped. She never saw my father again.

"Rumors about my parents started to spread, as they always do when a woman becomes pregnant and the man suddenly disappears without a trace. Maybe she killed him and hid the body. Maybe he ran off with another woman. Maybe there was a fight between them and they split up, or Elric did not want to support both Talia and the child... Before long my mother's name was in disgrace. People even stopped coming to eat at the restaurant. So she picked up roots and moved to Kaimer-my home. She asked around at the local inns and restaurants if there was any work she could do until she had the baby. Many people were wary of her-a drifter with a child on the way and no man meant bad news. But finally, an innkeeper and his wife took pity on her. They let her stay and work, and soon found out what a wonderful cook she was. Their names were Gavin and Kyree Gabrine, Ari's parents.

"Four months later, my mother went into labor, and she wasn't well with it at all. Kyree had some training and experience in midwifery, but she could tell that Talia was bleeding too much for a normal birthing. The local healer was called immediately to help, which he did, though both he and Kyree were shocked to find a child that cut them with its tail as soon as it was free and lashing about. The news spread around the town like wildfire... the healer's wife was more than a bit of a gossip, and in a town the size of Kaimer, well...

"Even more preposterous was my mother's decision to keep and raise the wyvern child she had given birth to. It was because she realized the connection between the wyvern attacking Telgen and Elric that she kept me, and she was afraid of what would happen if I was sent off on my own. My father could have gotten hold of me, she said, and made me evil, like him.

"I learned to turn into a human when I was about two, but of course, the whole town already knew what I was... Looking like a human was no disguise, and in fact, it offended them even more that a monster could look like one of them. Ari and I grew up together, but the rest if the town avoided us and our families and persecuted us every way they could think of... me as a monster and Ari's family and my mother as Mazoku sympathizers. Kyree was murdered in one of the attacks on our inn early on. It was an accident, really. She was hit in the head with a stone while some people were throwing rocks trying to break the windows and she never got up.

"My mother taught me all she knew," Mayaki remembered fondly. "How to read and write, how to take care of the inn's bookkeeping, and how to cook, though I was never quite as good as she was. She was taken by the crimson fever when I was twelve. Gavin took care of Ari and I until his heart gave out a few years ago. Since then, Ari and I have been running things. Somehow we always make enough money to get by on, and there's always traveling merchants who are willing to sell to us when the townspeople refuse to. And then there are those who say that a Mazoku's gold is as hard as anyone else's... they don't care who they sell to so long as they make a buck."

"So you've done all right until now?"

The girl nodded. "The economy isn't what it used to be. Travelers through our village are fewer since the road was improved for carts... there's no need to stop for the night before going on to Telgen or Jerelitz now. Plus the villagers, they're getting antsy about old prophecies coming true about Mazoku and the end of the world. They figure that maybe if they could drive me out or kill me or what have you so that maybe the Pillar of Light would go away.. or something else now that that's gone..."

"That was us!" Gourry chimed in proudly. "Look, Lina! We're famous!"

Lina corrected him. "Well, we _did_ something famous... we aren't famous really if no one knows that it was us that did it."

"Oh..." the swordsman replied, obviously lost.

Amelia suddenly burst into tears again. "Poor Miss Mayaki! You've had such a hard life and I've been giving you such a hard time while you've been traveling with us! I feel just awful!"

Mayaki smirked, a little puzzled. "That, I'm used to. Don't worry about it. If anyone should apologize, I think it's me. I mean, it's kind of a big thing to know..." She morphed her hand into a wingclaw and back again.

"Mayaki, don't beat yourself up about it... It was your secret to keep," Lina said, leaning back on the log where she sat.

"That's right," Zelgaddis added. "And not a one of us here has a right to pass that information on, or reveal it by inaction." He glared coldly at Xellos, who managed to look innocent as ever. Then he turned back to Mayaki. "Your secret's safe with us."

She grinned widely. "Thank you... all of you. You're the best friends a Mazoku could have."

After an appreciative silence, Zel declared, "I think it's about time we all got to sleep... it's been a rather taxing day for us all." He gazed at Mayaki meaningfully before he got up, refusing to meet her eyes again. It was a look full of unanswered questions.

Amelia followed him with her eyes as he rose and peered around, choosing a direction and heading away from the camp into the darkness. "Mister Zelgaddis? Where are you going?" she asked, worry tinting her voice slightly.

He turned to answer her. "Just for a little walk. To clear my head a little. I'll be back before too long."

Mayaki stood up and jogged a few paces toward him. "I'll come with you," she announced brightly. Amelia bristled.

"No." Zel turned and resumed walking away from them. "Stay here, Miss Sora. Get your rest. You'll need it for the journey tomorrow, if we're going to make up the time we lost today."

"But... Zelgaddis..."

He didn't even look back. "I need some time alone to think."

Mayaki stared after him confusedly, then, when he was out of sight range, she turned, shaking her head and prepared for the night's rest.

"You should go after him," a voice said from above her, followed by a gentle tap on the head.

Mayaki sighed, irritated. "And why should I do that? He said he wanted to be alone. Oh, and by the way, thank you soooo much for all your help during the fight earlier, you little worm. Is that your idea of keeping a secret, then?"

Xellos smiled and drifted down to the ground cross-legged. "You're very welcome! It was quite an entertaining battle, except for the part with that Race character getting the better of you. I dare say we'll see him again eventually."

"Again, no thanks to you. Why do you even hang around if you aren't going to help your friends when they're in trouble?"

"I never said we were friends," Xellos grinned, squinting at her. "I'm just keeping an eye on Lina."

"Why?"

"Why, Miss Mayaki, that is, of course..."

"A secret," she chorused with him. "Yes, of course." She threw her hands up in the air and wondered why she even bothered asking.

She stared again in the direction that Zelgaddis had gone. Was he mad at her, she wondered? The look he'd given her certainly made it seem like that.

"You'd better go after Zelly-boy before he gets himself in trouble, don't you think?" the Mazoku coaxed, still smirking calmly.

"He _said_ he wanted to be alone," Mayaki snapped again.

"Miss Mayaki, are you really that naive? When was the last time you said you wanted to be alone? Didn't you want someone to be there with you more than anything else?

"How do I know you're not just trying to trick me into going?"

"Why would I do that now?" He grinned, shifting his staff around.

"I don't know.. it's probably a secret." Xellos blinked, looking as if she'd beaten him to the punch. She didn't notice. She was too busy staring off into the woods.

"He's not happy with you, you know."

"Yeah... I know." An uncomfortable silence filled the clearing, disturbed only by Gourry's occasional snores. "Maybe I should..."

"Go on," whispered Xellos. "He needs you."

Agreeing at last with a nod, Mayaki got to her feet and ran out of the clearing, switching to her Mazoku form once she reached the road. It would be easier to find Zelgaddis from the air.

Meanwhile Xellos waited for her to go, then disappeared with a slight chuckle.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	7. Chapter 6: Some Revolting Developments

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo! 

Chapter 6: Some Revolting Developments

Mayaki circled the forest until she spotted Zelgaddis, stopped by a stream. She carefully landed in another nearby meadow and shifted back to human shape to approach on foot.

Zelgaddis peered into the cool, flowing water, thinking quietly to himself. A twig behind him snapped, and he had his sword drawn in a flash. "Who's there?" he asked threateningly.

"It's me... Mayaki," she called shyly.

Zel sheathed his sword, sitting back down on the rock by the stream. Mayaki silently paced up and sat beside him.

"I told you to stay at the camp," he growled at her.

She nodded. "Couldn't let you go out all by yourself," she countered. "Dangerous bandits around these parts, especially on the roads at night, you know."

He blinked in surprise at hearing his own words turned around on him. Then he glowered at her. "Why did you follow me?"

"I thought... you might be lonely. I thought maybe I could help."

"I'm not," he said harshly.

"I know," she said quietly. "But I am." Uncomfortable silence hung in the glade as she stared into the clear water and Zelgaddis stared at her.

"You should have told us," he said at last in a disgusted tone. "You should have told _me._"

Mayaki snorted. "What would you have done if I had? A lot of people don't trust monsters, you know. What would I have said? 'Hi, I'm half Mazoku, want to be friends?'" Zel stared dumbfoundedly. Mayaki stared right back. "I'd think you of all people, would be able to understand that, Zelgaddis." She got up and trotted a few steps away when he tried to grasp her shoulders.

He shook his head and put a hand to one temple as if he had a headache from just thinking about the whole situation. "Mayaki, it's... it's not so much that as the shock... traveling with you, I got to trust you and just when I thought I was getting to know you, you turn out to be... something completely different. It's like you deceived us. You LIED to us."

"It was _my_ secret. Even Xellos didn't deny me that."

"Just like Mazoku to be on the same side," he snorted.

The remark bit deep. Mayaki's eyes teared up, then flared for just a second before she grabbed Zel by the collar and tossed him to the ground using the strength of her monster side. "How dare you accuse me of being like him?! I would never work with Mazoku slime like Xellos! I am half human, you know, and I won't betray that part of myself to become evil! Never! I may look like a monster part of the time, but I never forget my other half, you hear me?!" She kicked some loose dirt at him. "I may never be fully human, but I'd rather be half human than all Mazoku," she snarled bitterly, then angrily turned and, running a few steps, opened her wings and launched herself high into the air, soaring back to camp.

"Mayaki!" Zel called after her, getting no response from the empty night sky. He gazed upward, searching for her. "I see what Ari meant about her temper..." he said to himself, standing to brush himself off. He sat back on the rock and looked into the water, seeing his reflection hovering above the stones at the bottom. He touched the stone scale at his jaw and sighed. "I of all people _would_ be able to understand that..."

* * * * *

Zelas sat smugly on her throne. The wolves were howling pleasantly outside in the wonderfully dark, moonless evening. She puffed contentedly on her cigarette, then followed the nicotine up with a splash of bourbon on the rocks. "So, Xellos, my dear faithful general-priest, how are things going with that Lina Inverse girl I sent you to keep an eye on?"

"Oh, everything's wonderful with her, Beastmaster! Don't you worry about her. She doesn't have a clue." Xellos smiled up to his Master, kneeling in deference to her before rising.

"And our little plan?"

"Coming right along, as expected."

Zelas smiled, and even allowed herself a slight chuckle. "Good. So there's been nothing of particular interest to report... why are you here, Xellos?"

"What? Oh, I'd almost forgotten," he said smugly. 

"Don't play your trickster's games with me, Xellos."

Xellos looked slightly abashed. "Well. I thought it might interest you to know that Lina and her friends have joined up with the daughter of a red wyvern."

Zelas tapped her nails impatiently on the arm of her chair. "A wyvern. Why should this interest me?"

Xellos waved casually. "Not that it _should_ interest you, Master, but... I was wondering if I might have your permission to try to convert her to your service. She is quite powerful for being only half Mazoku, and out of practice at that."

"You've taken a liking to this little half-human then?"

He nodded confidently. "She harbors so much anger and hate, and she kills with raw efficiency that I would swear she prides herself on, though she is limiting herself. She would make an excellent Mazoku, and a great servant to you, Beastmaster. After all, you will need minions to help overthrow the remaining two of Shabranigdo's chosen five. I don't presume the others will be such pushovers as MaRyu-Sama Gaav or Phibrizzo."

"True," she admitted slowly after a pause. The silence continued as she thought his proposal over and took another swig of her bourbon. 

"Please?" Xellos put in quietly and shyly.

"She attractive?" Zelas asked.

Xellos grinned wickedly in response.

"Oh, all right. If the chaos created by this half-human draws you so much, my faithful one, I see no reason you shouldn't convert her, so long as it doesn't interfere with my plans. Understood?"

Xellos bowed deeply. "Yes, Master. Thank you."

She waved nonchalantly at him and took another gulp of her drink as he disappeared into a small black tornado. "Kids," she mused, taking another drag of her cigarette.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	8. Chapter 7: A Matter of Taste

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 7: A Matter of Taste

Morning, or rather, late morning, found the group at the outskirts of Telgen City. Mayaki made a conscious effort to keep Amelia between herself and Zelgaddis. Amelia, naturally, didn't seem to mind. Zelgaddis, on the other hand, was going nuts trying to find a way to talk to Mayaki privately.

The group stopped on the ridge overlooking the city. Mayaki peered down at the spread of Telgen, awed. "It's... so big. There must be so many people down there..." *So many people who knew and spurned my mother for something that was not her doing,* her unspoken thoughts added. 

Lina charged past her like a woman on the brink of starvation with Gourry close on her heels. "Food!" she crowed.

Mayaki looked to Amelia, who shrugged and said, "We may as well catch up with them before they eat everything!" She started in at a jog after the other two. Mayaki laughed musically and trotted after her.

"Mayaki-!" Zel started to say, reaching for her shoulder a little too late. With the exception of the horse, he was alone on the ridge. With a sigh, he slowly trudged down the hill after his companions.

Lina and Gourry led the chase to the first restaurant they could find, immediately ordering double portions of everything for themselves. Amelia and Mayaki skidded in practically on top of each other. Not to be outdone, Amelia ordered about half of what was on the menu. Mayaki slowly browsed through it for herself, and eventually settled for ordering two items that she wasn't quite sure about.

By the time Zelgaddis arrived and had the horse tied securely outside, the waitress had already brought most of Lina and Gourry's food (which was disappearing almost as quickly as it was served) and set Amelia's and Mayaki's in front of them. Amelia barreled into hers with gusto unfitting a princess. Mayaki stared at hers for a while before prodding it with a careful fork, as if it might attack. 

Zel pulled up another chair to sit beside her. "Something wrong?" he asked.

"No, no... I'm fine.. er..." she stuttered.

The two of them blinked at each other. "With the food, I meant," Zel said, filling the silence between them.

"Oh!" THAT she had more than a word to say about. "It rather...lacks something. It doesn't look quite right. Or smell right. The juices aren't blending the way they should and these potatoes are underdone. The meat is practically coated in paprika... you'd think they're trying to hide what low-quality meat it is by drowning out the taste. It looks like they deep-fried the meatballs Gourry is eating and the coating on Lina's chicken there is breadcrumbs and celery flakes. Honestly, I _do_ like celery flakes, don't get me wrong, but to coat a chicken in them is blasphemy!"

The entire table had frozen during Mayaki's tirade. In fact, the entire restaurant had stopped in various stages of eating. Lina looked critically down at the roast chicken. "It is rather bland, now that you mention it..."

Gourry, meanwhile, poured several of the deep-fried meatballs down his craw directly off the plate.

Mayaki blushed and sat down, realizing that her rant had brought her to her feet. "I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to get so worked up over it..." Cautiously she poked at the pot roast she had ordered. She couldn't bring herself to taste it, and eventually tried one of the accompanying boiled carrots. She gagged as soon as it hit her palate. "How can you guys EAT this? It's absolutely horrid!"

A shadow fell over her. "I hear that someone over here doesn't like my cooking," it said menacingly. Mayaki kept herself calm, though judging from Lina and Gourry's panicked looks and where their eyes were focused, Mayaki thought that she probably didn't want to know how big the man really was or how sharp of a cleaver he was holding. She could hear him slapping the back of it against the palm of his hand. She stood up and whirled on him gracefully.

"You are the owner of this establishment?"

"Yeah, I am. You got a complaint with the food?"

Mayaki noticed every eye in the place on her. "Sir, don't take this the wrong way, but perhaps I am used to my own cooking rather than your.. erm.. unique...breed of the culinary arts. Perhaps it is just the custom of the area to serve bland and undercooked dishes. Who am I to say?"

"Bland and undercooked, huh? Your friends don't seem to mind it much."

"Sir, we've been on the road for quite a while. My friends here are used to this roadside cuisine, but I hold to a higher standard and this is not it. Quite frankly, the hog-slops are more flavorful where I come from."

"Hog slops!" the large man exclaimed, an eye twitching angrily. Mayaki crossed her arms at him, unmoving. "I will have you know, I've been cooking here for thirty years and never once has anyone dared to insult my food like that!"

Mayaki snorted. "I'm not surprised if you insist on carrying _that_ around with you when they come to complain." She pointed a finger daintily at the cleaver.

"Hey! Just who do you think you are?"

"Who do I think I am? No, who do _you_ think that I am? My name is Mayaki. Mayaki Avi-Sora. Daughter of Talia Avi-Sora. My mother was probably some of your worst competition back in the day, hm?"

"You're...Talia's daughter?" the cook gaped.

"In person," she said with pride.

Mutters came form the gathering crowd. "Talia's child has come to town! Is Talia back? The outcast's child! She's come to avenge her mother!"

"Talia's child, hmm?" the large man restated, pondering something. "Often as not, I hear that a child inherits certain talents from their parents. That true in your case?"

Zelgaddis looked away from the table, holding one hand up to his face in a somewhat embarrassed gesture. "You might say that..." he said quietly.

Lina broke in. "Darn right, she did, if what she tells us about her mother's cooking is true!"

Amelia backed Lina up. "That's right!"

"You bet!" added Gourry.

The man looked skeptical. Mayaki stood her ground defiantly. "Maybe I just want some proof, ye get me? I mean, anyone can waltz into town claiming to be the daughter of a famous cook, but unless they have something to show for it, I'm not really obligated to believe them at all, am I?" He quirked a smile down at her. "How is Talia these days anyway?"

Mayaki looked at her shoes. "My mother died quite a number of years ago..."

"I'm sorry to hear that," the cook replied. "Tell you what. I have a challenge for you to see if you really are her child, based on your talent, if you're interested. Call it a friendly wager. You're so sure you can out-cook me? Let's put a 3000 gold piece wager on it."

Lina slammed the group's money pouch down on the table. "You're on!"

Gourry panicked. "Lina, that's all the money we have!"

"Relax, Mister Gourry! Miss Mayaki can do it! Can't you, Miss Mayaki?" Amelia chirped enthusiastically.

Mayaki paled a bit, sweating. "You guys have an awful lot of faith in me, don't you?" She cleared her throat and looked the large cook in the eye. "Fine. We'll both hold on to our own money. I _will_ need a place to work, of course."

"My kitchen is at your disposal."

"Thank you. I'll use my own cookware if you don't mind, though. It's been properly seasoned."

The cook grumbled a bit to himself. "..properly seasoned! Right then! We'll both present our best right back here in an hour."

Mayaki fell flat on her face. "An hour?!?"

The man crossed his arms and scowled down at her. "If you can't do it, I'll take your money right now."

A low growl issued from the girl on the floor. "All right then. It'll just prove that my mediocre work can beat your best standing still."

"Don't be so sure of yourself, Miss Sora," the cook snorted. "I'll even let you pick which one of my customers will judge for us."

"Fine by me." She stood and shook the man's hand. "One hour." He nodded at her. "Start the timer!" Mayaki bolted through the door, asking quick directions to the local market and running toward it at full tilt. The cook chuckled lowly to himself and wandered back into his kitchen.

Mayaki's friends stared after her. "Well, we've got an hour to kill," Lina said brightly. "Let's go find an ice cream parlor!"

"Yeah!" Amelia and Gourry chorused, following her. Amelia turned to look back. "Mister Zelgaddis? Aren't you coming?"

Zel turned and looked up at her. "I think I'll stay. Mayaki needs some moral support for when she gets back."

Amelia blinked. "Oh." Her eyes began tearing up, so she quickly turned around and began striding toward the door to catch up with Lina and Gourry. She really felt like she needed that ice cream now.

Zel blinked at her. "Amelia," he called. 

She turned around and scampered back. "Yes, Mister Zelgaddis?"

Zel smiled warmly. "If you could bring me back a dou-"

"...A double scoop of vanilla with chocolate sprinkles and a cherry with a stem on top if they have them. In a waffle cone. You betcha!" Zelgaddis blinked in shock. "It's your favorite," she explained happily. "You always order that."

"Right. Oh, and Amelia?" he added as she started to walk away.

"Yes?" she said, looking over her shoulder.

He grinned. "Thanks."

"You're welcome!" she chirped back. "Be back in a little bit!"

Zel watched her leave and then turned back to the table thoughtfully. "Didn't know she knew that was my favorite..."

* * * * *

An hour later as Mayaki and the owner of the restaurant faced off, she looked a bit frazzled. Normally she had more time to prepare food, or at least had the things she needed on hand before she started cooking. Half of her hour had been spent in the marketplace, gathering the ingredients she needed. She'd gotten back with no time to spare and hurriedly threw a small quickbread into the oven. That left her with roughly twenty minutes to throw everything together as best as she could. Still, her high standards assured her with a sense of confidence and she brushed a stray lock of burgundy hair out of her face with a flourish of one hand.

The cook faced her, positive that the time limitations would cripple Mayaki's abilities, if she even had the skills that she said she did. Not even Talia Avi-Sora could cook a dish that fast.

Both of the contenders set their covered platters down on the table. A large crowd had gathered in the time it took for word to spread around the city. The rumor that Talia's child had come to Telgen was exciting news to everyone! Zelgaddis, Amelia, Lina and Gourry were in the front row, waiting anxiously for the contest to begin.

"Let's go, Mayaki! We're counting on you!" Lina cheered heartily to her.

Zel scolded her. "Lina, enough. Don't you think Mayaki's under enough pressure from you already?"

Lina paused for a second. "Well.. gee...um..."

"Did you even for a second consider what'll happen if she loses?"

"Er..." Lina looked sheepish.

"Where are we going to get money for food if Mayaki can't do it, huh?" Lina didn't reply a word. Zel sighed in frustration and shook his head.

Amelia kept quiet, staring at Mayaki determinedly. If she won, she'd double the money they already had. If she lost.. well, maybe Zelgaddis would have a reason to stop liking her so much. Either way, things would turn out good... but still, she thought, Mayaki should be able to win... Amelia clenched her fist and watched like a hawk.

"Let's see it!" someone in the crowd shouted, followed by a roar of approval from the mob.

Mayaki and the cook exchanged a cold, even look. Neither one of them was going to back down, that was apparent. Mayaki nodded to the man stolidly, and he took the cover from his platter. After the cloud of steam disbursed, the crowd oohed and ahhed at the roast chicken. The bird was tightly trussed, practically coated with pepper and herbs. It was surrounded by the obligatory carrots and potatoes, which were coated with butter and some type of oily glaze to make them look shiny. Mayaki interpreted this as "greasy." Mouths around the room began to water as the aroma of the various herbs entered their nostrils.

Mayaki was disgusted. "You can't cook a chicken in an hour!" she protested.

"Ah, but let me show you something." The cook pointed out the back window. "See that dome out there? It's all mirrors. When you put meat in the center, it cooks meat faster than an ordinary oven because it reflects heat directly at it.

Mayaki blinked, rather alarmed by this invention. "Madness..."

The cook laughed at her. "It may be mad, my dear, but this wonder of modern science _works_!"

The half-Mazoku humphed. "Quality over quickness," she countered, and turned back to her silver serving platter, preparing to take the lid off.

"Look! It's Miss Mayaki's turn now!" Amelia pointed. The crowd murmured. Mayaki grasped the handle of the silver dome over her own creation and lifted it away to reveal...

"A _SANDWICH_??" Lina grabbed her head in shock and dismay. "Three thousand gold pieces at stake and she makes a SANDWICH??!" Gourry and Zel quickly pinned Lina to the floor. "Mayaki!! What're you thinking, you idiot?!" The sorceress's eyes bugged out as she made several hand gestures resembling strangling someone.

"Relax, Miss Lina," Mayaki said calmly. "I know what I'm doing." She smiled coolly at the cook, who chuckled to himself.

The crowd collectively stared at the sandwich on the platter before them. Surrounded by fresh, green lettuce leaves and accented by a pickle and a green olive on a toothpick, it was a handsome sandwich indeed. It was true that the cook's chicken looked, well, edible enough that you could take the remains home to the family dog if it wasn't that good (deboned, of course..), but Mayaki's entry looked as if it should be framed and put on exhibit in an art museum. The lightly toasted bread put out such a lovely smell that there was no doubt it was just out of the oven, the lettuce shone with a healthy radiance, the tomato added just enough color to draw and hold the eye, the pinkish-white filling was just that... filling but not overflowing the edges of the bread, and looked thick enough not to drop off when the masterpiece was picked up and bitten into. The cool scents of sage, dill, and basil greeted nostrils around the room, soothing noses burned by the heavily peppered chicken.

"Well," the cook grunted, "shall we see if your food can do more than win a beauty contest?" Mayaki gave him an even, determined smile. He motioned for her to pick someone out of the crowded audience to be the judge. Mayaki looked around at the many hopeful faces, and finally picked an aging woman from the crowd. The selected judge eagerly stepped forward and allowed Mayaki to seat her at the table. The cook smiled to himself. The woman was one of his regular customers. She sampled the chicken first, carefully trying a bit of both the white and dark meat, tried an overly-glazed carrot, took a bite out of a slice of potato. Dabbing her lips daintily with a napkin, she requested a glass of water to rinse everything down with.

Mayaki thought to herself, *Of course! Everything he cooked is dry because it cooked too fast and too hot for him to baste!*

The woman, after sipping at the water for a minute, nodded at the cook. "Fine as always, Jamesie."

Mayaki's heart sank a little as the woman shifted her gaze over at Mayaki. "So, you're really Talia's daughter?"

"Yes, ma'am," Mayaki answered with a slight bow.

The woman snorted. "Always did think it was a pity that sorcerer brought her to ruin."

Mayaki wondered if that was some sort of veiled insult. She chose to ignore the comment, though her temper boiled up slightly.

The old woman picked up the sandwich and looked it over from a few different angles before taking a bite out of it. Everyone in the crowd held their breath as they leaned forward in anticipation. The woman chewed thoughtfully and took another bite. And another. She announced, "Mmm! Young lady, this is the finest sammich I've ever had! What is that in the middle?"

Mayaki smiled with intense relief. "Tuna fish," she said cheerily.

Gourry, Zel, Lina and Amelia piled forward to congratulate Mayaki on her culinary victory. Gourry even picked her up on his shoulders and carried her around the room to the clapping and cheering of the crowd.

The cook protested angrily. "She... she cheated! Anyone can make a sandwich! And who ever heard of a sandwich made of fish?"

Lina confronted him with her hands on her hips. "Oh really, and not informing Mayaki about your little solar oven in the back wasn't cheating?"

Mayaki had Gourry set her down so she could add to her defense. "Plus you already had most if not all of your supplies on hand. I had to pick mine out in the market under a time limit! Have you ever tried to find a merchant that sells fresh tuna at an inland market? In under an hour?!"

Zel nodded and put his hands on her shoulders. "That's right. Miss Sora had the handicap of buying supplies, which took away from her time in an unfamiliar kitchen. I dare say you spent all of your time cooking yours. I really think you had better pay up."

The crowd backed them up so enthusiastically that the cook had to pay Mayaki and make sure everything was counted out correctly before anyone would leave.

Mayaki was asked question after question as she and her friends left the restaurant. She smiled and laughed amiably with the townspeople. "No, I'm afraid I'm not staying. No, I'm not opening my mother's restaurant back up... not just yet, anyhow. Thank you. Yes, my mother taught me everything I know about cooking..."

Gourry whispered to Lina, "I didn't know we were traveling with a celebrity!"

"Neither did I," she admitted, following the throng of people out into the street. As they went on their way, the crowd eventually dispersed. But there was one fan who had not yet expressed his congratulations to Mayaki.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	9. Chapter 8: Sweet Dreams Are Made of This

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo! 

Chapter 8: Sweet Dreams Are Made of This...

The group looked up at the unexpected slow clapping from the top of a lamppost, where Xellos sat, grinning smugly down at them.

"Excellent job, Miss Sora! I must say you had me worried for a second there. You surprised us all with that sandwich."

Mayaki gave him a scowl. "And where have you been all this time?"

Xellos chuckled a little and refrained from answering her. She rolled her eyes and walked past him with a huff, not really noticing his slit eyes following her. "Where are we off to now?"

"To the Temple of Dreams," Zelgaddis said stoically. "Rumor has it there's a vessel there that grants anyone who holds it one wish."

Mayaki nodded in recognition. "I think a traveler who stopped at our inn told us about it once."

Lina stretched thoughtfully, putting her arms behind her head. "That would be something...to get whatever one thing you wanted, just like that." She looked around at her companions. "What would you guys wish for?"

Amelia was first to pipe up. "That's easy. I'd wish that there would be justice done all over the world!"

Xellos sighed. "Typical Amelia answer."

"I'd wish for an endless supply of Miss Mayaki's wonderful food!" Gourry said. "Mmmm, tarts and pies, and roast, and soup, and..."

"Enough, Gourry!" Lina chided. "We get the idea! What about you, Mayaki?"

Mayaki looked down at her feet as she walked. "I... I'd wish to be fully human instead of Mazoku," she stammered. "I've never fit in anywhere because people knew I was a Mazoku underneath... except for traveling with all of you." She smiled to her friends thankfully.

"Why would you want to give up your Mazoku side?" Xellos asked. Mayaki glared at him in a way that could scorch an iceberg. "Just to play the devil's advocate," he added carefully. "I mean, without your powers against Race and the bandits, where would we all be now?" He floated around like a gnat. "I should pose the same question to you, Zelgaddis. Being part golem and part Mazoku makes your body and your magic more powerful. You'd really want to lose those in order to become a weak, defenseless human again?"

Zel looked angrily at the Mazoku priest as he floated by, smiling as ever. He couldn't say anything in response; it would only make Xellos more proud and cocky.

Mayaki answered for him eventually. "You've never been exiled or ostracized because of what you are, Xellos," she said softly. "You crave pain where we crave the love and affection of others. We want acceptance where you'd prefer solitude. Power doesn't mean anything. You can always become more powerful, but it doesn't mean anything when there's no one to appreciate it. But things like loyalty and friendship and love... those are the things that give real meaning to life."

Xellos stopped, hovering in place while everyone passed by him. He blinked and soared in front of her to catch up. "How would you know what I'm feeling, hmm?"

She gave him another scornful look as she continued to walk. "I may not be full Mazoku, Xellos, but I know what the half I have feels and desires. Hate, anger, and pain. It's there all the time, the longing for negative human emotions... and I don't want it to be." She walked past him without another word.

The silence was deafening. Eventually Amelia spoke up to fill it by asking, "What about you, Miss Lina? What would you wish for?"

"Me? Uhhh..." Lina looked down at her chest. "I...haven't decided yet." she stammered.

* * * * *

There were quite a few people milling about in the Temple of Dreams when they entered. Many of them looked like they had traveled a long distance to be there, still wearing their walking boots and traveling garb. As the group walked through the one of the tall, arched doorways, they took in the immensity of the temple. The height of the dome over their heads was astonishing, as were the tall hand-chiseled statues of the Lords of Dreams. Nosec, the old man with the beard, looked down on them with wizened eyes and one outstretched hand in a blessing gesture, while his counterpart, Willen, the youth, had been carved staring longingly up at the skies.

"It must have taken them years to carve these," Zel observed in a hushed tone.

As they milled through the crowd, a priest approached them. "Welcome to the Temple of Dreams, weary travelers. I hope that your pilgrimage here will not be in vain. If you wish to make offerings to the Dream Lords, the Altars are directly to your right and left. If you've come to present a wish to the sacred Vessel of Dreams, please come with me, and we shall prepare sleeping quarters for you."

"Sleeping quarters??" Amelia asked with a look of panic. "You mean the line is THAT long??"

The priest chuckled. "Oh my, no.. but didn't you know? Once you tell the Vessel a wish, you must spend a night in the Temple for it to take effect. It's mandatory!"

"Sounds good to me, I could use a nap!" Gourry yawned, stretching.

The elderly priest bowed to the group and beckoned them to follow. He led them to a staircase that spiraled dizzyingly up along the inside wall of the temple until it reached the next floor, a much more modest structure. It consisted of a single room, long and rectangular, with windows over each of the many beds in the room, excepting the two rows in the middle. The priest led them down the long line of bunks until he came to a row still marked as unoccupied. He checked them over to make sure each had a pillow and a blanket, then turned the occupied sign over on them. "We'll put the five of you here. There is a small locker beneath the bed for you to store your valuables in, though I would recommend leaving your cloaks or something draped on the end of the bed so that you remember which it is.. People seem to get lost quite easily in this room," he smiled.

Lina peered around at the three hundred or so beds. "Yeah, I can see why..."

The middle-aged man looked skeptically at the group of young people. "Remember to please refrain from sexual activities within the temple," he said, glaring.

Amelia blushed, as did Mayaki. Zel stared rather nervously at the man. Gourry blinked at him, and then blinked at Lina.

Lina screeched. "What?!?" and began pummeling the priest for the outrage. "What exactly are you trying to imply here? What's the big idea?! We're all just friends!"

Mayaki looked around them. Something clicked in her mind. "Five of us? Where's Xellos now?"

Amelia looked over at her. "Oh, he offered to stay outside and watch the horse for us. He said that he didn't have any wishes anyway."

"Strange..." Mayaki's brow wrinkled.

* * * * *

After Lina's berating ebbed and they had all laid their cloaks out on their beds, the priest led them back downstairs to the large room housing the holy Vessel of Dreams. The line leading to the Vessel was long, which was to be expected from a vessel that would grant wishes. The vase itself seemed to be black, though after looking at it, no one could really tell what color it had been. It was large, too large for one person to pick up, with a wide-lipped mouth and curled handles on either side. It also seemed to be speckled like a field of stars, Mayaki thought, but every time she tried to focus on one of the tiny points of light, it failed to be there, like she was seeing something just on the edge of her vision that wasn't there when she turned her head.

"It's so pretty.." she said aloud, starting at it.

"Remember to be careful with your wish... you only get one," the priest instructed. "Sweet dreams, friends." With that, the priest left them to attend the next group.

The line moved quickly, for as long as it was. They weren't in the line more than ten minutes before they had moved halfway to the Vessel. Mayaki and Zelgaddis exchanged a look as they got closer with every minute. They watched as person after person took hold of the Vessel's handles and whisper a wish into its wide mouth. She took hold of his hands and squeezed them excitedly. Her eyes danced, and her feet looked like they were about to join in at any second. "We're going to be human!" she cheered softly.

"Yes, I know," he said with a slight smile. He sobered slightly and let out a troubled sigh. "I just hope there isn't a catch..."

Mayaki stopped bouncing. She looked at him curiously. "You mean, like what Xellos said?"

Zel shook his head. "Not just that... I can't quite explain..." He looked down into her watchful eyes. "Nevermind. It's probably not that important." He smiled to her reassuringly. After a moment he thought of something else. "Mayaki... about the other night..."

"Look, look!" she interrupted. "It's Gourry's turn!"

"Joy of joys," he replied, rolling his eyes. Ahead of them, Lina cut in front of Gourry and skipped up to the Vessel, whispered something to it, and bounded back down with a squeal, heading for the sleeping room. Mayaki and Zel stared after her, then bust out laughing (or is that a bad choice of words, regarding Lina?).

"It's your turn," she grinned at him, indicating the steps up to the Vessel.

"Ladies first," he insisted, helping her up them with a hand.

She solemnly stepped up the three stairs, felt the body of the sparkling vase with one hand, then took hold of the handles and whispered into the Vessel. "Dear Vessel of Dreams, my wish is that I may become fully human so that I may finally fit in with the rest of the world." Mayaki felt a surge of power rush from the vase through her body and back into the vase. As she descended the steps, she began to realize that she was quite tired.

Zel looked back over his shoulder. "Amelia? Ladies first?"

Amelia looked up from some deep inner though. "Oh.. that's okay, Mister Zelgaddis. I'm still... thinking." She grinned, but it was forced.

He nodded back to her and climbed the steps himself.

When Amelia's turn came, she cautiously took hold of the Vessel. She could do so much good for the world with just this one wish, but that wasn't what her heart was focused on for the moment.

She whispered to the urn, "I wish that Zelgaddis would love me instead of her...Mayaki."

* * * * *

Mayaki barely made it up the stairs. She could see why the period of sleep was required... it was more or less essential after touching the vase. She swooned as she reached the doors to the sleep chamber, and Zelgaddis steadied her from behind, leading her to her bed, though his own eyelids were drooping. Sleep completely overcame her as she toppled into her pillow

Zelgaddis smiled at her tiredly as he sat on his own bed. He shucked his boots off and lay back, staring up at the ceiling for an instant before he began to drift off to sleep himself. "We'll both of us finally be human..." he mumbled as his eyes refused to stay open any longer.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	10. Chapter 9: Dream a Little Dream of Me

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo! 

Chapter 9: Dream a Little Dream of Me

Zel opened his eyes and held his hand up in front of him. It was no longer stone. Neither was the other one when he held that up in front of his eyes as well. He smiled widely and sat up, looking around the field he was in. There was a slight breeze. It tickled the once-familiar nerves across his blessedly normal human skin. His dark hair, no longer stiff wire, blew across his face. He laughed as he pushed it away. Looking around, he saw a small stream trickling past, stood up and made for it as fast as he could...so fast, in fact, that he tripped over a stone half buried in the ground and fell, scraping his hands and knees. He felt pain instantly as he picked himself up and brushed the dirt from around the scrape. "Ow!" he laughed as if this was a novel thing, thrilled at the very presence 

He gazed into the stream, noting in his reflection that the stone scales around his face were gone, and laughed again. He even allowed himself the indignity of making faces at himself in the water.

Mayaki's reflection appeared in the water next to his. She giggled at one of the faces he was making. He stood up rather sheepishly and grinned at her. She looked like she was holding back tears of joy, and after a moment threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back, not at all afraid of hurting her, then picked her up and spun her around until he got dizzy and fell over backward. She laughed with him. *Just this once,* he thought contentedly, *dignity can go to Hell.*

* * * * *

Mayaki wandered through the city. For once, the nagging itch to slit the throats of the people passing her on the street wasn't there. The desire to cause pain simply didn't exist within her anymore. She sighed, and finally let herself relax. People said hello to her and she smiled and waved back with polite hellos and good mornings.

"Now Miss Mayaki, what have you gone and done?" a familiar voice from behind her interrupted her stroll. She turned to face the source of the voice.

"Xellos? What are you doing here?"

The Mazoku smiled evenly down at her from his lamppost perch. "I've come to bring you a warning. Don't deny your nature, Mayaki. It could make things not only unpleasant but dangerous for you."

She shook her head in disbelief. "No. I'm human now. I'm not going back to how I was!"

"You are a fool then, " Xellos told her haughtily, disappearing into the black cone of a whirlwind, which also faded out.

The city street was suddenly devoid of people. Where once it had been busy, it seemed that people had all reached the places that they were going... or just disappeared? There wasn't a breath of sound anywhere in the city. Even the wind seemed to hesitate in blowing past Mayaki. There didn't seem to be another living soul for miles. "Hello?" she squeaked out.

A new sound greeted her call. It wasn't one she would have liked to hear. It sounded like a combination of grating metal on metal and the burbling of a thick soup brought to a rolling boil... in any case, it wasn't pleasant. She turned to find that the noise had come from an equally horrid sight... one with large fangs and tentacles. Despite having no legs, it roiled down the street toward her at a startling speed. Mayaki screamed and tried to transform so she could fly away. Nothing happened, however. No claws, no wings, no tail. Only her feeble human body. She tried to run, but the thing caught up with her and ensnared her in one of its tentacle arms, hauling her high in the air. She screamed. She was going to die, all because she had no way to attack the thing. All because she hadn't taken Xellos's advice...

"Mayaki!" a voice yelled to her from street level.

"Zelgaddis!" she shouted back to him, twisting around one direction and the other as the tentacle curled around her, turning her slowly around. "Please help me!"

She got her first good glimpse at him as the creature tried to use the tentacle holding her to strike him with. He rolled agilely to the side and looked up into her frightened face. That was when she noticed he was human, with dark hair, but with the same ocean-blue eyes.

Human he may have been, but that didn't stop him from fighting to save her. Sword unsheathed and a spell at the ready, he faced the demon head on. It swung a tentacle at him with amazing speed. Zel slashed and hacked at it as it passed. The thing let out a howl of anguish and immediately swung three more at him. The first he hit with a Freeze Arrow spell that caused the whip to break out in a bad case of ice crystals and fall to the ground as it became too heavy for the creature to lift. The second he also saw coming and leapt over it... just in time for the third to hit him in the back with such speed and force that it instantly broke his spine. He crumpled, sword clanging against the otherwise empty street.

"Zelgaddis!" she screamed, struggling to free herself from the beast's grip. "No! No!" The tentacle squeezed her even tighter as she attempted to escape its grasp. It must have decided that this was a good idea and continued to squeeze, slowly crushing her.

Xellos blipped back in beside her, hovering as if he didn't have a care in the world. "Now, see all the trouble you've caused?"

"Xellos! Help!" she gasped, barely able to get air into her lungs.

"Ah, so you want my help now that you didn't listen to my advice?"

"Yes!" she admitted. "Just help me! Please!"

He smirked. "Well, since you asked so nicely..." He snapped his fingers, and instantly she grew in her tail and wings, followed by her beak. She eagerly sunk her teeth into the constricting tentacle as she used her tail like a scorpion sting, wounding the beast time and time again until it released its hold on the thing causing it so much pain. Mayaki folded her wings in and easily slipped out of its loosening grip, soaring quickly away from it and hovering a ways off. The Mazoku side of her savored its pain.

Xellos zoomed up beside her. "Go on," he encouraged in an evil tone, looking into her gold eyes with his own purple ones. "Kill it." Mayaki made up her mind that she would. It would certainly make her feel better. Her beak curled slightly, mirroring Xellos's smirk.

Mayaki's eyes flashed brilliantly as she dove at the monster, slashing and biting and slicing it with her tail until the thing was leaking black mist from more than a hundred wounds. It wailed and screamed as it dissolved into nothingness, one of its tentacles still gripped in Mayaki's powerful jaws until it disappeared. She circled through the negative emotions it had lost, soaking up as many of them for herself as she could before they dispersed completely.

"Beautiful," Xellos applauded, somewhat sarcastically. "What style and grace for a killer!" He swooped over to her, doing delicate loops around her as she flew.

"I don't want to be a killer," she said, though she knew it came out as the raucous cry of her wyvern form. 

"I told you once not to deny your nature," Xellos chided, running the tip of his staff gently along her wing. "This is a part of who you are." She backwinged to get away from him, hovering in one place. Xellos adjusted his own course accordingly, seeming to dance around her midair, knowing that it was irritating her. He even had the nerve to run a hand along her manes and the side of her neck during one pass. She flinched away from the stroke with a shocked "Aak!"

He floated around in front of her, taking her jawbone in his hands. If she hadn't been shocked stiff, she would have bitten him. He caught her eyes with his and stared deeply into them. "You were destined to be Mazoku," he told her, his amethyst eyes open wide to back the seriousness of his statement. They sparkled with the evil deep in his heart. "You were destined..." he whispered to her, "to be _mine..._"

* * * * *

Mayaki gasped and sat bolt upright in bed. She swallowed hard and tried to keep from hyperventilating. She looked around quickly, disoriented by the strange room. A priest of the temple, though not the same one they had met when they came in, hurried to her side. "Miss? Is something wrong?" he asked gently.

"It was a dream," she realized.

"Miss?" the priest asked again.

"N-nothing..." she stuttered. "Just a bad dream."

"A bad dream? Here? Oh dear.. that's not good at all..."

"Really," she protested. "I'm all right now.."

The priest seemed to disagree. "To have a nightmare in the Temple of Dreams is practically unheard of. It's a very bad omen, Miss. If I were you, I would sort out my inner feelings and thoughts to find the root of the problem, and address it at once."

"I'm FINE!" she snapped. The priest quailed and went about tending some of the temple's other visitors, muttering things about not taking advice and silly girls with deep-down problems. Mayaki blinked at herself. Her temper had gotten away from her. Gentle little Mayaki had just bitten the poor lad's head off when he had been trying to help her.

She swung her legs off the bed and sat staring at the floor for a moment, then she held her hand up in front of her eyes. As she focused, it metamorphosed into a two-taloned wingclaw and back. She sighed, half out of relief, half out of regret. Maybe the dream had been right. She wouldn't survive long without her powers in a world this full of danger. She thought back to when the robber band had her and the others captured. Her wyvern form had more or less been their only hope. Another thought nagged at her: if her wyvern side was so evil, why would it have let her save her friends? Certainly that was a good thing. She'd used something evil for a good purpose... wasn't that all right? Mayaki looked at her hand again, turning it over, and gave a little laugh of joy. Being Mazoku wasn't bad; it was just different. Special. Yes, that's what it was. Maybe Xellos was right after all...

Mayaki looked over at the next bed. Zelgaddis smiled in his sleep with a look of happiness and freedom that she's never seen him wear. She sat and watched until his eyelids began to flutter and he slowly opened his eyes. His blissful expression remained for an instant before he fully awoke. When he realized, a look of bitter sadness replaced it. He held both hands up in front of him, as she had done, but without the pleasant afterthoughts she had had. His eyes clenched shut as he cursed silently to himself and sat up on the bed. She watched piteously. 

"It was a dream," he whispered bitterly. Mayaki got up and sat next to him on his bed. She knew how much he had wanted to be human, and how disappointed he must be. Sympathetically, she patted one of his stone hands. He looked at it and sighed, clenching his teeth.

Zelgaddis had searched for a way to cure himself for a long time.. since before he had met Lina and Gourry, in fact. He had run across several potential cures... so many possibilities that had turned up with nothing in the end. After the first few, he got used to the idea of things not working. All the same, he refused to give up his quest... some part of him kept saying that the cure was out there somewhere, waiting for him to find it... it wasn't going to come to him; he had to go to it. 

This loss hurt him the worst, though. He had had renewed hope when he met Mayaki and found out that she, like him, longed to be human. He finally had a companion who knew some of what he was going through. Then there was the dream. It had been the most wonderful dream, everything his heart desired. Just before waking up, he remembered, was the best part. He'd kissed her. He remembered the sensation of the flesh of his lips pressed gently to hers, the sweet taste of her mouth (like berry wine, he thought, how wonderful!), the surprised, shocked expression on her face... it had been perfect. It had been the happiest moment of his young life. 

Or, rather, it would have been, if any of it had been real. This wasn't how it was supposed to be... his wish was supposed to be granted for him, in a more permanent way! Instead, it was dangled in front of him, just out of reach. Damn it all! He had been given a taste of heaven itself only to have it jerked away from him again. For one night, he had been human again. For one night, he could feel and laugh and love...and it was over. Gone, like so much dust in the wind. He pulled his hand away from Mayaki's comforting and rested his head forlornly on his fist.

Across the aisle, Lina awoke with a yawn and a stretch. Mayaki giggled as she looked down at her chest and groaned disappointedly. "Hey, what's the deal? We were supposed to get our wishes!" she whined.

"They _were_ granted," Mayaki grumbled. "But in the form of dreams. That's what the Temple of Dreams is all about. Reality not included."

Lina drooped. "Ohhh.. that's no fair... it just figures." She looked over at the next bunk. "Hey Gourry! Wake up!" A snore issued from the swordsman's lips. Lina kicked his bed, hard enough to turn it on it side, spilling Gourry out of it in a heap. He sat bolt upright.

"Huh? Hey! Where's all my food?"

"You were dreaming, Gourry. This whole wish thing is all a hoax."

Gourry deflated. "But... my foood...Aaaaa!"

"Come on..." Lina said, dragging him by the ear. "Let's get out of here."

"Wait," Zel halted them. "Amelia." He pointed to the little justice crusader, splayed out across her bunk in every possible direction. A wide grin was plastered across her face, and she drooled contentedly from one corner of her mouth. "Amelia," Zel called softly.

"Mm?" she whispered as her eyes slowly opened and focused themselves. "AAAGH! M-Mister Zelgaddis!" She turned beet red. Her face showed intense guilt and embarrassment. "I.. uh..."

Zel looked a little shocked at her reaction. "Er... yes?"

"No! This isn't right! Unless.. it was all..."

Lina started teasing her. "So, how was the world of Justice, Amelia? Looked like you were sure having fun."

"Uhhh..." Amelia looked nervously around at everyone. She blushed deeper and scrubbed at the corner of her mouth, erasing the drool streak. "Fine! Er.. just fine..."

"Was it everything you expected?" Lina mocked, poking her.

"Lina, enough. Let her be," Mayaki scolded. "Unless you want me to start bringing up some certain matters _abreast_?"

The sorceress's jaw dropped with a little shriek. "Time to go!"

* * * * *

Though Mayaki walked next to him down the long staircase, Zelgaddis remained silent and pensive. He ground his teeth, inwardly raging. Mayaki was hesitant to speak to him, but her concern finally got the better of her. "Are you gonna be all right?"

He sighed. "They should have told us. If I'd known," he said regretfully, "I could've wished to know where to find the cure, or even what the spell was! Instead of..." He curled and uncurled his fist in front of him. 

She took his hand and patted it comfortingly. "It's all right.. I know you'll find it eventually. Like you told me, it has to exist somewhere." His head snapped up so fast and he glared at her so hard that she gasped and shrank back from him, letting go of his hand.

"Don't patronize me," he snarled at her and hurried down the stairs, leaving her to stare after him.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 

BTW: I'm going for chapter names that work on several levels at once... is it working? ;)


	11. Chapter 10: Armed and Dangerous

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo! 

Chapter 10: Armed and Dangerous

Xellos waved to them as they exited the temple. He sat sidesaddle on top of their traveling supplies without crushing them, still tied to the nervously shaking horse. 

"Well, that took a little longer than expected, I'd say," he smirked as the group strolled up. "Did you all have a good time getting your wishes granted?"

Everyone glowered at him. The Mazoku held up his hands defensively and floated down from his perch. "Now, now, don't look at me. I had nothing to do with this particular little fiasco."

"Wouldn't you have to be involved to know it was a fiasco?" Zel asked flatly.

Xellos shook a finger at him. "This time, I can just see it on your faces. Or, in Lina's case, on her chest."

"What?! Why you.." Lina shoved past everyone else to slug Xellos deep in the gut. The monster doubled over and coughed, having the wind knocked out of him.

"I have a feeling you knew something about this place and didn't tell us, Xellos," Zel growled. "What kind of information were you withholding now?"

"Well, I might've known something..." he gasped. "..but I thought you knew about the Temple of Dreams already..."

Lina nodded and held her hands up as if she was expecting that kind of answer from him anyway.

Mayaki continued to stare at the trickster priest while the group packed their gear up and tried to comfort the distraught horse. Her look wasn't one of hatred or mistrust, or even annoyance. She was curious.

Xellos caught her look and opened his eyes at her, giving her a mischievous wink as his evil smile grew wide and friendly. She continued to stare, and he waved at her. Completely befuddled, she looked away.

*it was just a dream he couldn't have actually be in my head he couldn't I know it I like him I like being a monster I like being special he couldn't I mean there's no way it's impossible it was just a dream..*

Reassured by her rapidfire stream of thought, she looked back up to meet his eyes and grinned back at him.

Another thought struck her as she finished tying her things onto the horse. "Before we leave town, do you think we could stop at a weaponry shop?" The whole troupe stopped, staring at her. She got irritated. "Well, it's fine and well for all of you who can defend yourselves without changing forms, but it's a little hard to make friends when people know you turn into a monster!" She paused, calming down. "And I lost my dagger," she added sadly.

The others continued to stare, then exchanged a blank look.

* * * * *

"Ah, welcome, sirs and madams! How may I serve you today?"

Mayaki edged toward the man timidly. "Um... I..." She stopped as a stone hand rested on her shoulder. 

"My companion here needs a weapon to travel with," he said calmly. Mayaki gave him a thankful look, noting that he had his hood and veil up to mask his face. She couldn't read his expression to see if he was still angry with her. Not wanting him to think she was staring, she quickly diverted her attention to the shop's wares. She was in awe. She never knew so many types of weapons existed!

"Wonderful, wonderful! And what sort of weapon does the little lady have in mind? We have just about anything she would be looking for and we do custom work as well..."

"I'm... not sure what I want," she said quietly. Both the shopman and Zelgaddis looked curiously at her. "I've never handled any kind of weapon before."

"Well then, we'll just start with the swords over there and work our way around, shall we? The shopkeeper grinned, profit practically etched in his dancing eyes.

Mayaki attempted to heft a broadsword, barely able to get the tip of the blade off the floor. The shopman helped her put it back on the rack and motioned her toward the smaller one-handed swords and rapiers. "Perhaps milady would be interested in this one, once carried by the Knight of Ceiphied herself," the man gloated, handing Mayaki the delicate looking blade. She swung it around easily in the air as Zelgaddis instructed her.

Across the room, Lina's jaw dropped, as did the fancy throwing star she was looking at. It made a metallic clank on the floor when it hit. "That sword belonged to my sister?!"

The shopkeeper regarded her coolly. "If your sister is the Knight of Ceiphied, then yes. She pawned it to me, for money to get back home, she said. Something about part-time job obligations."

Lina squeaked in fear. "Mayaki, put it down! It might have Luna's cooties on it still! She'll come looking for it, and then I'll be in trouble!" The little sorceress dashed behind Gourry and clung to him, peeking out nervously.

With a confused look, both Mayaki and Zel stared at her. Amelia peeked around the corner from a rack of powder weapons as well.

The shopkeeper, seeing the chance for a sale slipping away, quickly tried to recapture the shreds of Mayaki's attention. "The Knight of Ceiphied carried this sword with her on her travels, fighting off evil. As you can see, it's a very light and agile blade, perfect for a young lady. It was told to me by a very reliable source that she once slew five blue wyverns at one fell swoop by cutting their heads off with this very sword!"

The sword fell clumsily out of Mayaki's hand and hit the floor with a clatter as she put both her hands up, protecting her throat. Zelgaddis's eyes showed disgust behind his veil. Lina stared out from her hiding spot behind an equally confounded (but when isn't he?) Gourry. Amelia stared from the corner again, setting down the gun she was handling. Even Xellos looked a little on-edge, his smile for once deserting him.

"What else have you got?" Zel asked.

* * * * *

The store owner had Mayaki try a bow and arrow. He showed her the short shooting range in back of the shop. Zel followed to observe. For a while, Mayaki couldn't figure out how to get the arrow nocked properly. Then she couldn't manage to keep it on the bow while she drew. Finally she managed to get a shot off. The arrow sailed up over the target... so far over the target, in fact, that it cleared the back fence and sailed far down the alleyway. About a block away, a very startled and probably injured cat opened up to tell the world how unhappy it was. Mayaki dropped the bow and clapped both hands over her mouth.

"Let's try something else, shall we?" the shopman suggested, swiping the bow and the rest of the arrows from her.

* * * * *

"Ooohhh.. this looks promising," Mayaki said as she was handed a crossbow. The shopman was just showing her how to load the bolts when she accidentally hit the trigger. The dart ricocheted around the shop, hitting a piece of plate mail armor, a shelf, the rack of swords (which Lina was standing right next to, making her flinch), and a long case of daggers before embedding itself in the ceiling harmlessly. Everyone looked up at Mayaki from the floor.

"Oops..." she said softly with a grimace.

The shopkeeper delicately snatched the crossbow out of her arms.

* * * * *

"Here's something that might suit you, ma'am," the man told Mayaki, handing her three heavy balls tied with strips of leather thong.

"What are they?" she asked curiously.

"These are called bolos. You spin them around your head and then throw them at your attacker's feet to try to trip him, or at his head to knock him out.

She blinked. "Okay..." The man was already setting up a dummy for her to try hitting. Once he was out of the way, Mayaki checked in back of her to make sure she wasn't going to hit anything. Zelgaddis was well behind her and leaning against the doorframe. She began swinging the bolos apprehensively, ducking as they separated and tangled up in her hair. The shopkeeper started for her to take the weapon back. "No, no, it's okay, I got it," she said hurriedly, picking the balls out of her hair.

On her next try, she spun them a little faster. Again, all three balls whirled around her head at different speeds, and it threw her off. "Wait.." she said, stopping and letting the stones drop. One of them hit her on the head. She whined and rubbed at the spot, stubbornly gathering the bolos together for another try. She could hear Zelgaddis snort with laughter behind her.

"Miss, maybe.." the shop owner started to say, edging toward her to take the bolos away, but having to duck and she swung the stones wildly around her head. She spun them around her head a few times, not letting them get enough downward momentum to separate this time.

She kept her eyes on the dummy and let the thong go as the bolos swung forward in their orbit. "Ha!" she said, feeling the bolo leave her hand. Except that it didn't fly outward in her line of vision like she expected. "Huh?"

"Ow!" said a voice behind her suddenly. She turned around sheepishly to see Zelgaddis with the bolo wrapped around his head. 

"Sorry!" she said quietly. Zel unwrapped the bolos carefully and handed them back to the shopkeeper.

* * * * *

While Lina and Amelia pretended to have a swordfight in the back of the store, and Mayaki occupied herself with picking out a new bodice dagger, the owner pulled Zelgaddis aside for a word. "Friend, if I were you, I would make sure that girl never gets her hands on a weapon unless she's going to fight for the other side. Just make sure she doesn't travel by herself and you'll all live." He swatted at a fly errantly as it buzzed around his head. It decided at that point that Zelgaddis was more interesting to flit around.

"Maybe you're right," the chimaera sighed, watching Mayaki as she squealed over the prettier daggers in the case. He was distracted by the insect buzzing around him. He waved his hand at it, trying to get it to go somewhere else, but instead it decided to orbit his head several quick times at eyes level. "Gah," he said, trying to swat it away.

"Hey, look at these pretty knives! Ooohh, there's a whole set of them!" Mayaki called gleefully. "The colors are all different but they match... they're so _cool_!!"

True enough, the polished wooden hilts were colored blue, green, and dark red, each with a ring of a different color at the base and a brass ball at the pommel of each. Beside the knives lay a type of carrying belt they would snap into, designed so there would be three daggers at each hip, easily accessible, but shielded from the swing of the wearer's arms.

"Ahhh," said the owner, trying to mask his weariness. "I'd forgotten all about those. Certainly a weapon for a lady. These are throwing knives. Good for keeping yourself out of the way during a battle. Would you care to try them out?"

"Would I!" she said eagerly, weighing one carefully with both hands as they were set on the counter for her to examine. "Wow... nice balance... good and light... must be stainless steel; look at how shiny the blades are! Nice and sharp..." Mayaki's eyes focused on the fly as it zoomed past her.

The shopman finished hanging the dartboard on the far wall for her to throw at. He made certain that he was well out of the way before he gave her the okay. "All right, miss. Let's see your throw."

Mayaki wasn't listening. She seemed rather distracted.

"Miss?"

Her eyes wandered.

"Mayaki?" Zel asked, then jumped back as she suddenly threw the dagger, swift as a cat. "Whoa!"

She seemed to move in slow motion and a barely visible blur at the same time, keeping perfectly balanced on one foot as she drew the knife back over her head, then whipped it forward with a snap of her wrist. She took a step forward, catching herself on the tip of her toes while her leg and throwing arm remained in a perfectly straight line. "Hrrahh!" she uttered as she let go.

The knife made a whistling noise as it spun gracefully across the room and embedded itself in the wall, a good two feet from the dartboard.

"Yeah!" Mayaki cheered.

Gourry was the first to comment, breaking away from the stunned silence. "Aren't you supposed to try to hit the bullseye? Or at least the target?"

"I wasn't _aiming_ for the target," she gloated, retrieving the knife from the wall where it had lodged, along with its victim, which she wiped off on the edge of the counter, flicked it to the floor, and stepped on it for good measure. "Flies. A cook's worst enemy," she said triumphantly.

The shopkeeper twitched. "I'll just wrap these up for you, shall I?"

"And the dagger. The one with the wolf's head, please," she added, grinning widely.

"Seven hundred silvers all together," the man said. 

"Five hundred," Mayaki demanded firmly.

"Six twenty five."

"Five fifty."

"Five seventy?"

"Done. And I'll just wear them on the way out, thanks."

The shopman watched the girl and her comrades leave, then heaved a heavy sigh of relief and collapsed.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 

BTW: The weaponry scene is one of my faves. I think it would make a great montage. ;)


	12. Chapter 11: Following Darkness

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 11: Following Darkness

Mayaki practically skipped along the road she was so pleased with her new knives. Every now and then she would take aim and bury one in the trunk of a tree. After she hit her target, she would give a little squeal, run up and collect her knife and trot happily back to the group. She was armed and dangerous, and darn pleased about it. No more defenseless little Mayaki!

"So where are we off to now?" she chirped merrily.

"Just follow the open road," Lina said with a shrug. "We travel until we reach a town and see what it has to offer, follow some leads on local superstitions, fight off some monsters, gain the appreciation and rewards of the townspeople, eat, get some supplies, and off we go again."

"No method to the madness then."

"None whatsoever."

Mayaki rolled her eyes and accepted that as fact, giving herself up to a wanderer's lifestyle. She slackened her pace a little and took over leading the horse, giving Amelia the opportunity to scoot over to Zelgaddis's side. Mayaki snorted to herself. He probably still wasn't too happy with her from the other night. Being thrown to the ground and kicked dirt at wasn't exactly common courtesy. The disappointment of the Temple of Dreams was sitting pretty hard with him too. She understood why it hurt him so much. If not for the revelation of her nightmare, she probably would have had a similar reaction. He didn't seem like he was still angry about it, but Zel had a way of burying things deep down that Mayaki couldn't entirely comprehend. He'd been there for her during the cook-off-she'd seen him waiting for her when she came back from the market, but she was so flustered with her time limitation that she hadn't been able to spare him more than a glance tinged with annoyed panic. She hadn't exactly had time to chat just then. And he'd helped her in the weapons shop too... but then, he was the one most likely to speak for the group on matters of weapons, knowing the most about them. Maybe he was simply obligated to? She couldn't tell. It was hard to read his expression normally, much more so when he had his hood and mask up.

She glanced over at Zel and Amelia. He looked up and caught her eyes for an instant, giving her a questioning look. Mayaki turned her head back toward the road guiltily. She didn't want to have to answer the question in the gaze he gave her, because it said, "Mayaki, why are you avoiding me?"

*Truth is,* she thought, *I don't know.*

While she was turning this over in her mind, walking along stolidly, she suddenly felt an abrupt tap on her head.

"Xellos, would you knock it off already?"

The Mazoku grinned and glided down next to her, landing and walking for a change. "Why, Miss Mayaki, aren't you _happy_ to see me?"

"Why? Should I be, you little pest?"

"Honestly, Miss Mayaki, I haven't done a thing to hurt you, have I?"

The girl's head snapped around to glare at him. "You mean besides not helping me so I had to turn into a wyvern and kill six men AND get a sword stuck through my leg? Hm? Besides that?"

Xellos's smile was replaced by a look of hurt shock. "It turned out for the best in the end, Miss Sora. If you think about it. Would Lina be as willing to let you stay if you had been discovered sneaking around behind her back?"

"She let you stay."

Xellos snorted. "She 'lets' me stay because she doesn't have any say in whether I stay or go. I've been ordered to be here by my master, you know, so it isn't exactly as if I have a lot of choice in the matter either..." he paused. "Anyway, you see, it was a favor I did you by making you fight."

Mayaki thought about it for a second. "I suppose," she said slowly, trying to think of some way to refute his argument. 

"Birds do the same thing when it's time for their young to learn to fly and leave the nest. They push them out of the nest, and then it's time to either fly... or die." Xellos made a gesture with one hand soaring upward, then plummeting down.

"You would have let them kill me?!" Mayaki yelped, raising her voice and staring incredulously at the trickster.

Xellos held up his hands defensively. "No, of course not! I would have stepped in if things had gone badly for you."

"Things were going badly, in case you hadn't noticed. What were you going to do, wait until I was dead?"

"I didn't have to," he countered. "You fought back. Quite valiantly, I might add, for someone so inexperienced with her powers."

Mayaki blinked. "Did you just give me a... a compliment?"

Xellos grinned conspiratorially. "Oh, did I? Must have just slipped out. I didn't even notice."

"Yeah, yeah, right, sure," Mayaki mocked, turning away from him to look out at the field they were passing. She blushed a little at the compliment he was trying to mask.

"You certainly deserve it, my beauty."

Mayaki's breath caught in her throat. She stopped dead in her tracks. The horse kept walking despite the fact that Mayaki had dropped the reins. A pair of evil amethyst eyes floated into her line of vision from the top, their owner doing a strange sort of mid-air backbend to achieve this. Mayaki felt like a wren caught by a snake. His eyes were deep and hypnotic. She could lose herself in those eyes... she imagined herself falling deeper and deeper into them....

Xellos chuckled slightly at her and gave her a quick peck on the lips before flying off to bother the rest of the troupe. 

Mayaki gulped and regained her senses. And ran to catch up with the horse, which had seen some plants by the side of the road that looked tempting and was heading after them at a brisk pace.

Zelgaddis witnessed this from the time the horse had gone around Mayaki and Xellos. He gasped when Xellos had kissed her. Amelia, thankfully, didn't take any notice. Zel wondered if this was just another Mazoku trick of Xellos's designed to annoy him. If it was, then it was certainly working. *And what if it wasn't?* some jealous part of his mind nagged. Zelgaddis seethed, but he didn't let it show, except for a slight furrow in his brow. He was, quite literally, a rock.

* * * * *

Mayaki sat by the campfire after dinner, turning one of her shiny knives over and over in her palm. She seemed fascinated by it, the lethal blade resting against her fragile skin. The danger of it had her spellbound.

Zelgaddis came over to sit beside her. "Umm..." he started brilliantly. "Hi."

"Hi," she repeated, a little nervously. She slipped the dagger back into its sheath at her hip before her Mazoku side did anything rash. She wasn't sure the blade wouldn't cut stone. 

"Enjoying the knives?" he asked.

"Yes, they're wonderful! Thank you for helping me find them!" she said cheerily. She paused afterward and wondered if she'd sounded false.

"Any time," he volunteered. She let out a mental sigh of relief. He hadn't thought she'd sounded strange. "I suppose knives would be an ideal weapon for a chef such as yourself."

"Oh, I do know my cutlery!" she giggled. Zel stared straight forward, eyes focused on something across the field from them. Mayaki tried to read his look, but to no avail. "Something the matter?"

Zel shook himself out of his thoughts. "I... Mayaki, I... the other night. I'm sorry I upset you."

She dropped her eyes and stared at her shoes. "I'm sorry too.. I shouldn't have thrown you. I shouldn't have even followed you when I knew you wanted to be alone. It's just..."

"I know. It's okay though." He sighed. "Damn it, Mayaki! We were so close!"

"You'll find it, Zel. Don't give up now."

"I've been at this a lot longer than you," he growled at her. "How can you be so optimistic?"

She snarled back, "Hey, can you blame me for having a little bit of hope?" She bit her lip before she really got going. "Sorry."

"No, no...it's okay," he told her.

The pair of them gazed into the fire for a long time. 

Mayaki finally broke the silence by asking angrily, "Okay, what is it?"

"Nothing," he replied defensively. "It's none of my business."

"Tell me," she demanded.

Zel snorted in disgust. "Xellos!" he blurted out, hoping that the demon was out of earshot.

Mayaki sensed exactly why Zel was annoyed, and kept her nervousness about the subject well hidden. "Xellos?" she asked.

"When he... this afternoon... What was that all about?" he stammered back.

She shook her head and chuckled, one of her burgundy ringlets falling over her shoulder as she did. "He was just teasing me about some things."

"What kind of things?"

"_Mazoku_ things," she said sharply, piercing him with her gaze.

"You kissed him," Zel grumbled flatly.

She practically roared at him in response. "I did _not_ kiss him! He kissed me! And it was only to scare me to death, I'm sure of it."

"Then why are you so jumpy about it?" he all but yelled back.

Lina piped up from her bedroll. "Will you people shut up and go to sleep already?!"

"Sorry, Lina!" they both called, dropping their voices.

"So, you're not, like... attracted to him, are you?"

She gawped at him. "We're talking about Xellos here!" she sneered.

Zel stared her down. "Yes, we are."

"So why the hell are you so jealous?" Mayaki taunted.

He frowned. "There is nothing Xellos has that I could possibly be jealous of!"

"...until he kisses me."

Zel looked helpless. There wasn't a thing he could say that would get him out of this. His blood was boiling, and he didn't have a response that wouldn't make him seem petty. He gave an annoyed sigh and dropped his head into his hands, running his fingers though his wiry hair.

Mayaki decided to end the conversation with that. "Look, we're both tired, and I know how cranky I get when I'm tired. Let's just go to bed and if you want to discuss it again in the morning, it's up to you. But I'm going to sleep." With that, she rose and flounced off toward her bedroll, grumbling to herself in annoyance.

"Mayaki?" Zel called quietly after her.

She turned around with an irritated look and put her hands on her hips.

"Pleasant dreams?" he said apologetically.

She shook her head and smiled. "Pleasant dreams to you too, Zelgaddis."

* * * * *

Mayaki carefully stepped around Lina and Amelia's sleeping forms and found her own bedroll at the edge of the firelight. She scooted into the folds and snuggled down, fluffing her hair slightly before sliding her pillow beneath her head.

She stared up at the stars for a long time. There was a lot on her mind. Zelgaddis was most assuredly not happy with her at all, and the fact that Xellos was playing mind games with them both wasn't helping the situation out any. Zel was bitterly jealous, judging from their recent conversation, even though he refused to admit it. She herself was so confused about the whole mess she almost felt sick to her stomach. She'd never actually had a guy be _attracted_ to her before... she didn't know how to act around him at all. She'd done several things around him that she certainly wasn't proud of, tonight's conversation being the least of them. Why was she so irritated by him? And then there was Xellos. Was he trying to drive them apart, or was he just teasing her? What the hell was that stupid Mazoku up to anyway? It almost seemed that they were about to patch things up, and Xellos...

A sharp jab in her side interrupted Mayaki's train of thought. *...and Xellos is in the bushes,* her mind substituted. "What do you want, Xellos?" she groaned.

"Wake up, Miss Sora. I have something to show you."

"I wasn't asleep yet..." she grumbled mournfully. "What is it? Can't it wait until morning?" she whined, rolling over and putting her face into her pillow.

"Why, Miss Mayaki, that is a secret, of course! And no, it can't."

Mayaki groaned again and shucked off her comfortably warm bedroll, pulling her boots back on and following the direction Xellos led her through the trees.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	13. Chapter 12: A Victim of Love

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 12: A Victim of Love

She tried to note where they were going, in case he was trying to get her lost on purpose. She wouldn't have put it past him. Unfortunately in the dark, she couldn't tell one tree from another. If they got lost, they were really going to be in trouble. Still, he seemed to know where he was going, being able to see in the dark better than her anyway.

The Mazoku priest eventually led her to an open meadow far from the road and the campsite. There was nothing special about it that Mayaki could see, though it was nice enough for a meadow. There seemed to be a lot of crickets around them, all chirping off-rhythm from each other. "Okay... what is it you wanted to show me?" she asked tiredly.

He smiled at her in the moonlight and stepped back toward her. She cringed back instinctively. He took her chin gently in his hand reassuringly, though she felt no more at ease. He stroked her hair back over her shoulder and brushed her cheek with his thumb. "For one," he said softly, "this." He leaned forward and kissed her gently. A thrill ran thought her body and she froze, not really returning the kiss but doing nothing to make him stop either. She just stared at him when he pulled away from her. His eyes sparkled with the starlight. Mayaki couldn't quite make out the rest of his face, but somehow she could tell he was wearing a different kind of grin. It was still quite evil, but it lacked the mischief it usually had... in fact his whole manner seemed more lighthearted, if it was possible for a Mazoku to feel happiness.

"Come along, Miss Mayaki. You've got a lot of things to learn," he said, ushering her further into the open. 

She looked panicked, her mind racing. "Learn about what?"

Xellos smiled to her reassuringly again. "About your Mazoku side, my dear. As I told you before, you are destined to be Mazoku. And for that, we'll need to train you into a fine, strong, swift little wyvern."

Mayaki's breath caught. "That was in my dream!" Then her temper hit. "What the hell were you doing in my head?!"

"Oh, come, Miss Sora, like you would have paid me any attention if I'd just told you what a lovely Mazoku you would make."

"Of course I wouldn't! I don't want to be a monster!"

"There is evil in your heart," he told her. "There always has been. It's your nature. Think of your dream, and think of how much you enjoyed killing the creature I brought you." Xellos danced around her. She couldn't deny that she'd enjoyed the kill. It was exhilarating to feel flesh between her jaws and hear the wail of the monster as it died in agony. "You are a monster, Miss Mayaki. And so your kind will always consider you for as long as you exist."

"No. There's a cure. There has to be," she said adamantly.

"Oh, please... if there even is a cure, what makes you think that you have a chance of finding it? It's already more or less proven to be a needle in a haystack for Zelgaddis. What makes you think that you would have any better luck?" He took hold of her shoulders from behind. "How many years would you be searching, do you think? And once you do find it, how many more of your precious days will you have left to enjoy it?" He leaned forward and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Your human half will only let you live for so long... human lives are so very short."

She whirled on him, her hand flying from her side on its own, striking him across the face. "STOP doing that! What the hell do you want from me anyway?!"

Xellos touched the mark her slap left on his cheek and smiled at her. "You hate me, don't you?" he smirked, enjoying every minute.

"What?! What does that have to do with- "

"You emotions, Miss Sora, are the most delectable I've come across. Your hate, your fear, your rage, your sadness... You keep them deep down inside so that when they bubble to the surface, they're pure and violent, like finely aged wine. They are," he chuckled, "quite delicious."

She glared at him. "You enjoy feeding on my emotions. So why do you keep pressing the fact that I am 'oh-so-destined' to be Mazoku? Wouldn't I be worth more to you as I am?"

"Like I said," he gloated, "how many short years would you last? Humans are not only short-lived, but you're so fragile. A simple blow to the head or the spine, and it's the end of you. No, I want you to last much longer than that, sweet Mayaki." She stared pensively downward. He tilted her chin up to meet his purple eyes, the only thing visible in the silhouette of his form. "I have existed for more than a thousand years now. Think about it... wouldn't you like to live forever? Oh, I'll admit it's not all fun and games, but I'd say the benefits far outweigh its shortcomings."

"Live forever?" she repeated quietly.

He clasped her hands, appealing now toward her sympathetic nature. "My life has been a lonely one, serving Greater Beast Zelas... with you at my side, I could gladly spend all eternity."

Mayaki stammered. "I... I would have to become evil?"

"Yes, you would," he said softly, still fixing her with his wicked gaze. "You know that it already lies in your soul, though. You feel it all the time, wanting to be in control but always overpowered by your conscience."

"Stop messing around in my head!"

He laughed, heartily, but lacking the evil tone he usually had. He was genuinely amused with her. "I'm not! I only remember what it feels like."

She gaped. "You mean... you were..."

"Human. Just like you. Well, part of you. Master Zelas was impressed with me, so she kept me around as her priest and general. It was... a great honor."

"So you betrayed your own kind to become a monster?" She backed away from him a step. Somehow, she couldn't find the strength to move any further, enraptured by him.

"Do you have your knives with you?"

Mayaki checked her hip. She'd forgotten to take the knifebelt off. "Yes..."

"Give me one. I want to show you something."

She hesitantly drew one of her blades and turned the handle toward him. She wasn't sure what he was up to, and she wasn't sure if she could trust him. If she was wrong about him, she'd probably wind up dead.

Before she could object, he took the knife, nimbly spun it around on his fingertips and caught it again, the blade toward her. Mayaki flinched slightly. Xellos chuckled a little at her reaction. "You're afraid of me?" She gulped speechlessly and nodded. "There's no need for you to be, my dear. Now, this won't hurt a bit."

Mayaki winced and closed her eyes, expecting him to strike her at any second. When the attack never came, she slowly opened them again. Xellos looked at her curiously and chuckled at her fear. He held one hand out toward her and slowly cut across his palm with the knife. Black mist-so black that it made the surrounding night seem much brighter in comparison-slowly leaked from the wound.

"What're you doing?" she asked in horror.

"A gift for you, Miss Mayaki." He brought his hand close to her face. When she tried to back away, suddenly her way was barred by his staff pressed against her shoulders. She squeaked with fear. "It's nothing to be afraid of," he told her. "Open your mouth. Just a taste."

She fought to get away. "No!" she cried, struggling. It wasn't Xellos she was fighting against so much as her own Mazoku side that was pushing its way to the surface despite her efforts to control it. It sensed the negative emotions Xellos was offering her, and it was very, very hungry.

Her eyes flashed angrily once and she stopped fighting. Her mouth slacked open gently, and Xellos tilted his hand and the flow of mist into it. The taste was bitter, thick and angry, and it flowed like blood. It was delicious! She sucked in the last few wisps as Xellos's hand sealed itself.

"Tell me now that you don't want to be a monster," he gloated, noting her reaction to the mist.

She came to her senses after a moment of going completely blank. "More... Xellos, please, I _must_ have more!"

"That's enough for tonight," he grinned. "Our 'friends' might suspect if you switched sides too fast. Besides, you need your rest for the journey tomorrow."

Mayaki looked querulously at him. "Xellos, why?"

"Can't you guess, my darling Mayaki?" he grinned, quirking an eyebrow at her.

She stared, an answer beginning to form in the back of her mind.

He caught her around the waist from the side, deftly sliding her knife back into its sheath at her hip. Then he kissed her full on the lips. This time, it was no simple peck. His kiss was powerful but gentle, deep and passionate...and real. Mayaki willingly kissed back, savoring the taste of his lips, and his evil.

After a moment, he let her free. "Go get some sleep, little Mayaki. I'll see you in the morning." He tilted his staff at her and made to disappear. "Oh, and if I were you, I would consider this..."

"...a secret," she interrupted and smiled evilly back at him. The Mazoku nodded his head in approval and disappeared. 

Mayaki slowly wound her way through the woods back to camp, finding her way as if she was sleepwalking.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	14. Chapter 13: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo! 

Chapter 13: O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Mayaki looked tired out that morning as they set off. She had dark circles around her eyes, her step lacked her characteristic bounce, and she seemed grumpier than usual. She didn't have much to say as she tromped along beside Zel and Amelia, despite Zel's numerous attempts to get her talking. 

"I just couldn't seem to fall asleep last night, is all. Leave me alone and maybe I can sleepwalk the rest of the way to the next town..."

"Miss Mayaki is certainly being crabby lately," Amelia observed quietly to Zelgaddis. 

"Yes, it is a bit strange for her... but maybe she's just not sleeping well like she says. Besides, I don't know what else to attribute it to... except..."

"Except what?"

Zel shook his head. "Nevermind."

Mayaki pulled ahead and strolled along by herself, Xellos randomly floating around her and being a pest. Every now and then she would snap at him, but he never stopped. Zelgaddis found this rather strange, even for as much as Xellos enjoyed teasing. He never focused on one person for very long, preferring to spread annoyance to everyone around. Zelgaddis didn't think his short attention span was long enough to torment one person for long. Zel gritted his teeth. Damn Xellos, couldn't he see that she wanted to be left alone? Why did he think Mayaki was so fun to bother all of a sudden? Idiot Mazoku.

"Hey Zel!" Lina called back to him. "Where's the map? How close are we to the next town?"

The group stopped while Zelgaddis took out his immaculately rolled map and his sextant and calculated their exact position. "I'd say it's another seven miles until we reach Sprogen. We'll get there by this afternoon if the weather holds."

"Great!" Lina crowed. "Then we have time for a break and a snack!" She skipped off to the side of the road and plopped herself down in the grass.

"Yeah!" Gourry seconded, following her and dragging the horse along with them. Everyone else shrugged and headed off the road as well, ready for a rest.

Mayaki flopped out on her back, enjoying the shade provided by a large elder tree. She sighed happily and put her hands behind her head for a pillow. "Mmmh..." she said contentedly and closed her eyes. And then Xellos bopped her with his staff. "Stoppitt..." she giggled, trying to act annoyed. Amazingly, he obeyed her and sat calmly next to her, crosslegged with his staff across his lap. It almost looked like he was watching over her... except for the fact that he was a Mazoku and kept an evil air around himself.

Zelgaddis stared at the two of them with bitter jealousy. He was _flirting_ with her! And damn her, she looked like she was enjoying it! With a snort, he turned his head and adamantly decided not to look at them.

"Mister Zelgaddis, would you like a cupcake?" Amelia offered carefully, holding one out to him from the cache of snacks Mayaki had baked.

He accepted it and smiled at her. "Thanks, Amelia."

"Are you all right?" she asked with concern. "You don't seem very happy today..."

His smile grew a little wider. "I'm okay. And all the better since you asked."

After Lina and Gourry had polished off the last of the cupcakes, Lina announced that it was time to get going. "Okay, everybody up! Let's go, so we can sleep in some real beds tonight!"

"Amen to that," Mayaki groaned, getting to her feet with a hand-up from Xellos. Zelgaddis shot a bitter glare at her. She caught it and looked back, her expression a mix of curiosity and sadness, with a hint of what was possibly guilt.

A new voice echoed around the clearing. Or rather, a familiar voice. One they all recognized at once. "All of you will be quite lucky if you aren't sleeping in pine boxes before the day is out," it called. The group's heads collectively turned toward the road, glaring. Zelgaddis quickly threw up a protective shield, not knowing if any of Race's friends were hiding in the bushes like the time before. Race grinned malevolently from the road. "Of course, it doesn't have to come to that. If you were to simply hand over the wyvern girl to me, I could spare the rest of you."

"You, spare us? Excuse me, but who got their ass kicked the last time he messed with us?" Lina jeered calmly.

"Not a mistake I intend to repeat," Race snorted with amusement. "I lost quite a few good men in that confrontation. But, now that I know what to expect from you..."

Another man stepped out from the woods and into the road beside Race. He was solidly built, though slender and obviously swift moving. He stared at them all unsmilingly with golden-green cat's eyes. His thick jaw was set firmly in hatred. He looked vaguely familiar to all of them, though none of them could place ever seeing or meeting him, with Race or otherwise.

"We're not sacrificing Mayaki," Lina said firmly.

"Yeah, you take on one of us, you take on all of us!" Gourry backed her up. Lina was impressed.

"Wow, Gourry, that was really good! You almost sounded smart!"

Gourry scratched the back of his neck. "Thanks, Lina!" he grinned.

Race growled at being ignored. "Very well, we'll do things the hard way. Alemo, take them out. Leave them alive if you can, but if you have to kill them..."

"I'll be sure they die slow, Race."

Race grinned triumphantly. "Good man."

"What, didn't you bring your buddies to pick on us this time, Race?" Lina called after him sarcastically as he headed back into the woods.

He chuckled, not even turning around. "Alemo is more than a match for all of you, even if his... unique services did much to lighten my purse. It's been a pleasure, Miss Inverse."

The little sorceress raged. "I don't believe the nerve of that guy! Fireball!" She sent the flaming projectile after the bandit, but he was already long gone into the trees. Some of the drier brush ignited and then slowly burnt out, sending tendrils of smoke into the air.

"He sent one guy to take us out?" Zel said in disbelief. "One against five doesn't even stand much of a chance in a fight without magic."

"Yeah, what's the deal with this guy?" Mayaki added. "Even Amelia would have no problem taking him down."

"Right. Come on, guys, let's get going..." Lina said with a sigh at the pathetic effort of their foe. She led the group back to the road, making to go around the man, who moved to bar their path.

"And where do you think you're going?" he asked her, putting his hands amusedly on his hips.

"Anywhere you're not," she snarled back, pointing a finger at him. "Fireball!" The ball of flame gathered at her fingertip and she flicked it easily at Alemo. He looked unimpressed and deflected it over his head and off somewhere into the meadow. He looked as if where it landed was really no concern of his.

"I think not," he said arrogantly.

Lina backed off a few steps. "Gourry! Zel!"

"Right!" Gourry shouted, leaping over her with his empty sword-hilt drawn. "Light come forth!" he yelled, and the sword erupted with piercing white light that formed the sword's blade. Zel, with his smaller one-handed blade, ran in beside him to attack. Alemo drew the sword at his side and prepared for the oncoming swordsmen. In one motion, he blocked Zel's swing and tripped Gourry, grabbing him by the shirt and throwing him into the road forcefully. It knocked the wind out of the blonde swordsman as he hit, and also knocked the Sword of Light out of his hand on impact. It clattered across the stones of the road and came to rest a few feet away. Gourry sat up, coughing. It was obvious it would take him a few minutes to recover.

The man was an excellent swordfighter. Zelgaddis spent most of the battle defending himself. The man rarely let him get a strike in, and when he did, every time Zel found his swing blocked. He was losing ground fast, and Alemo was pushing him toward the uneven ruts of the road, where Zel would be more likely to loose his footing.

Mayaki ran into the road a few yards in back of him, facing their attacker. "Zel! Hit the dirt!" she shouted, grabbing a knife from each hip and pulling them far back behind her head.

Zelgaddis dropped to his side and rolled off the road, blocking one last strike from Alemo's sword as he did. Alemo growled, but did not pursue him, instead facing Mayaki, who loosed both knives at him simultaneously.

"Hah!" she yelled as she let them fly, spinning toward their target.

Then she stared. He caught them both, one by the blade, the other by the hilt. He dropped both, along with his sword, and ran straight for her. Mayaki let out a little shriek of fear and quickly transformed, preparing to snap at him or at least kick him if he dared to get too close. Alemo didn't even flinch as she changed, and , in fact, sped up to leap at her. Mayaki gasped and fell on her back with her feet up as suddenly it wasn't a well-built man but another wyvern falling on her with its jaws ready to catch her throat. She kicked out with her feet and tossed him over her head, slashing at his underbelly as best as she could, but mostly striking his stomach armor and doing no damage. The impact bounced her off the ground and the two of them went rolling. Mayaki intentionally rolled further off and used her wingarms to stand herself back up as the other wyvern struggled to right himself.

"_Another_ wyvern?" Lina yelled.

"No wonder he was so strong!" Gourry added.

Amelia piped up. "We have to help Miss Mayaki somehow..."

Zel stared at the two wyverns squaring off. "We can't do anything until he drops that forcefield... And they're too close together for Lina to throw a Dragon Slave at him..." He looked on helplessly, clenching a fist in anger. "Mayaki..." he whispered.

The other wyvern was bigger, an aspect attributed to most males in nature. His coloration was red, slightly darker than Mayaki's rose-colored hue. His horns towered high above his head, long, lethal spikes where hers barely made a crown through her manes, and the scythes on his tail put hers to shame. Mayaki glared at him, eyes flashing, and knew she was down to her wits on this one.

Xellos hovered anxiously behind the rest of the group. He masked it, of course, with a mildly amused grin. *Come on, Mayaki... you can beat him... at least, I hope you can...* Lina angrily asked him why he wasn't helping Mayaki at all. "Miss Lina, I'll gladly step in if she gets herself in a fix." It wasn't a good thing to say to Lina. She fireballed him on the spot.

Alemo charged at Mayaki. She stared him down icily until he was just about to ram her, then hopped to the side and clamped her jaws around his neck. As he continued to charge past on his momentum, she hopped up on his back and sunk her talons in, adjusting her hold on his throat.

"Go Miss Mayaki!" Amelia cheered.

"Watch his tail!" Zel called to her. It hadn't escaped her attention. She was busy dodging this way and that as it swung wildly at her. Eventually she was forced to drop her hold on his neck in favor of dodging the scythe that was coming at her like a scorpion's sting. Once she almost didn't dodge fast enough and received a long cut along her cheekbone.

"Ouch!" she yelped, loosing her hold on him. "That really hurt, you friggin' bastard!" she said with a clawing leap off his back.

Alemo hopped another few steps, turning around and giving her a curious look. "What did you say?"

She flattened herself out, looking like a serpent ready to strike, with her wings out to the sides like a toreador, hiding her body from him. "What, the part about how much that hurt, or that you're a frigging bastard?"

"You can talk?" he asked her, pausing his attack for a moment. "Can _they_ understand you?" he queried with a sideways nod to her friends.

"Of course I can talk, you idiot. But they can't understand me. Except for Xellos, because he's a Mazoku."

Alemo looked rather puzzled. His dark russet manes bristled in curiosity. "Oh well... I suppose it doesn't matter. I still have to kill you." He charged her again and she jumped, kicking him in the back of the head. He staggered down the road while she glided a short distance away and landed, facing him again. He shook his head to clear the stars and faced her again as well, pausing. "Do all wyverns look like us? Or just the red ones?"

"I don't know!" she answered angrily. "Do you always gab so much during a fight?"

"I've never met up with another wyvern, so excuuuse me!" he sneered.

"Well, neither have I! Apparently we're not that common anymore."

"How do you know?"

"Do you see any other wyverns hanging around here, genius? I've been traveling with a Mazoku, you twit, they know these things."

"All the better reason to kill you all. You've been infected with Mazoku evil."

Mayaki reared back and screeched. "I'll kill you before you even DARE to touch my friends!" She charged him, raging. Before he even had a chance to react, she gored him in the chest with her short horns and flipped him over her back, slicing at him with her tail as she ran past. He received long cuts along his haunches and back before she was clear of him and turned to attack again.

"Go Mayaki!" Lina and Gourry shouted.

"The spirit of Justice is on your side, Miss Mayaki! You WILL triumph!" Amelia yelled.

"You can do it, Mayaki!" Zelgaddis added, then turned to a rather charred Xellos. "What are they saying?"

Xellos groaned and sat up. "They're trying to figure out what they are, I think..." he said groggily.

"Skraaaaak!" said one of the wyverns.

"Wraaaaaawwk!" the other answered.

* * * * *

"Son of a b-!" Alemo wailed, stepping tenderly so as not to open the wounds further.

"Get up and fight, ya pansy!" Mayaki scolded.

"That does it... you're going down. Now."

"Oooh, I'm so scared," she mocked. "Like to see you try. I already cut you to ribbons."

Alemo growled at her and his eyes flashed, familiarly golden. "Today you die, else my name's not Alemo Debarro!" he snarled and ran at her.

"Debarro?!" she realized, standing up in shock and freezing in place. He hit her full on and she sprawled across the road, rolling to a halt with a nice gouge in her side to show for it. She weakly tried to get her feet under her, only to be stepped on by a taloned foot as Alemo pinned her to the ground.

"Now," he chuckled wickedly, "we'll see how long it takes to skin a wyvern alive."

She ignored the toes digging further into her back and instead of reacting to him asked quietly, "_Elric_ Debarro?"

He shrank away from her, looking shocked. "You knew my father?"

"Only knew of him... he left my mother pregnant and in disgrace," she said softly, her voice getting weaker. Alemo lifted his foot off of her, but she remained on the ground, exhausted.

"But... that would mean..." After a long pause he stooped down and nuzzled his beak under Mayaki's wing, helping her to her feet. She staggered a few steps, so he put his head against her chest to prop her up. The two wobbled haphazardly off the road. They had barely gotten that far when Mayaki fainted, reverting to her human form en route to the ground. Alemo transformed shortly after and carried her the rest of the way to Lina and her friends, warily noting the Mazoku hovering around.

"You, sorceress! Do you know how to cast a recovery spell?"

"What? Of course I do! Haven't you ever heard of the beautiful and talented Lina Inverse?"

"Only that she had an awful temper and a very flat chest..." Alemo mumbled.

"WHAAAT?!?" Lina shrieked, trying to attack him as Gourry held her back.

"Don't worry, Miss Lina, I'll take care of the healing spell!" Amelia volunteered, preparing her magic. 

Zel blinked. "Okay, what in the world just happened?" he asked in confusion.

Xellos answered him. "Isn't it obvious? Alemo here and Miss Sora are related! In fact, he's her half-brother."

"That was supposed to be obvious?" Zel asked cynically.

Mayaki sat up woozily after the recovery spell Amelia had cast on her took effect. Xellos was the first at her side, supporting her as she got to her feet. "Perhaps we should clarify, Miss Sora, that when you fight a battle, you are supposed to win it without getting yourself critically injured," he smirked.

"Oh, shut up," she said acidly, accepting his hand and letting him pull her to her feet.

"Mayaki? You all right?" Zel asked concernedly.

She dusted herself off. "Better now," she said with a grin. "Well, guys, are we leaving or what?" I want that soft bed tonight more than ever!"

"Right!" added Lina. "Sprogen, here we come!"

"Sprogen? You're headed for Sprogen?" Alemo asked.

"Yyyyeah..." Mayaki answered cautiously.

He picked her up and hugged her. "That's wonderful! I can introduce you to my mother that way!"

"Well, um... sure, I suppose..."

"I assume it's safe to say there's no cure for us there if that's where you live," Zel told him flatly, starting onto the road with the others.

"Er... cure?" Alemo blinked confusedly. Mayaki explained.

"Zelgaddis and I are looking for a way to make ourselves fully human. There isn't any way to change us in Sprogen, obviously, or you would have used it. Wouldn't you?"

"Ahhh," he nodded in understanding. "No. I've been looking ever since I was old enough to leave home on my own, both east and west of here, and also searching for our father."

"Why's that?" she asked.

He clenched a fist. "Revenge."

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	15. Chapter 14: The Lies She Leads

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo! 

Chapter 14: The Lies She Leads

Alemo explained himself to everyone once they reached his home in Sprogen and they were comfortably seated around the dining room table. His mother had been more than glad to meet Mayaki and insisted on cooking dinner for them herself despite Mayaki's repeated offers to help.

"My father pretended that he loved my mother. After he found out that my mother was with child, and far enough into the pregnancy that things seemed to be all right with her, he disappeared. Around the same time, the wyvern attacks stopped altogether. When I was born, with some terrible complications, as you can probably imagine-Mum nearly bled to death my birth wounded her so severely-Mum put one and one and one together and figured out that Mister Debarro was the wyvern and the cause of all her problems. She told me all the stories she had about him time and time again. She never really forgave him for leaving her, and she truly loved the demon. I vowed that someday, when I was old enough to travel, I would find him and make him pay for all the pain her caused her, and me.

"And now that I've found out I have a half-sister, I can't help but wonder how many more women he's taken advantage of, bringing his offspring into this world through innocent women."

Mayaki sympathized. "My mother loved Elric too. I think that it's possible he did love her back, truly, but he couldn't say that he did... it would have killed him. That's what Xellos told us."

"Bullshit," Alemo whispered angrily. "He was only a ladies' man and a monster, and that's all he was."

"I don't think he was. Not wholly, anyway. I mean, he took good care of both of our mothers. Mine never wanted for a thing in the world when Elric was with her. He probably knew the complications that would come up with a human birth-mother, and all the questions that would arise with a wyvern child... He didn't want a finger pointed at him for being what he was."

"What he WAS, was a monster, Mayaki. He attacked the villages all around here at night, killed defenseless people, burned the ground so badly that now it won't even yield crops! Elric was a monster. And worse, thanks to him, so are we!" he snarled at the girl across the table. Mayaki stood up, balling her fists in front of her, meeting Alemo head to head.

"He couldn't help that!"

"He didn't have to have children! He could have guessed what would come of it! He should have known what kind of miserable lives we would lead for being half-wyverns!"

"Come on, Alemo! Give him a break. Don't you think that Mazoku get lonesome just like you or me?"

His eyes burned. "Mazoku do not get 'lonely,' Mayaki!"

"How would you know?" she snapped back angrily.

Zel stood up and gently pushed the two of them apart. "Why don't we all sit down before you two rip this place apart?"

Mayaki blinked and sat down. "Sorry."

Alemo shook off Zelgaddis's hand and growled as he seated himself cautiously.

"I guess it's obvious which side of the family had the short fuse," Gourry commented. "Maybe they're related to you, Lina!"

"WHAT?!" Lina screeched, lunging at him and getting pulled back down by Zelgaddis. She squalled like a jungle cat as Zel forced her to stay seated in her chair.

"So, you've explored east and west of here?" Zel asked Alemo calmly before any more arguments got started.

"Yes, without any traces of Elric or the cure we're all apparently seeking. I've gone as far as the western shore of the continent without so much as a trace, and east with the same results. Then you all turned up. As far as I can tell, I'm three years Mayaki's senior... that leaves quite a time gap between his appearances here and in Telgen. Perhaps if I find more of our brothers and sisters, I can deduce his trail, and perhaps I'll find him at the end of it.

"And then what'll you do? Kill him?" Mayaki sneered. "Speaking of which, what were you doing with that idiot Race Quim anyway?"

Alemo blushed a little bit. "Well, with my unique powers and form, you can imagine how easy it is to stalk and kill prey. After I got back from my travels, and rumors about my origins got out, a man came and asked me to avenge him by killing a man who robbed and killed his wife and daughters. He paid me handsomely to have it done, and I did, gladly. After that, another man came to me with a similar problem. Word gets around." Jaws around the table dropped.

"So you're an assassin," Lina summed up for him. He nodded solemnly.

"I take on that role from time to time. I only take the jobs where it's clear that a great injustice has been done."

Amelia clasped her hands together, looking dreamily at Alemo. He noticed and gave her a bashful look in return. "Mister Alemo! You're a justice fighter, just like me!" Everyone around the table collapsed with shock.

"So, anyway, Race's great wrong was...?" Mayaki queried.

"He said you had killed six of his men while he was traveling."

Mayaki nodded. "Well, at least he was truthful." Alemo's eyes bulged at her and he stood up again. Mayaki waved him back down. "But," she added, "I bet he neglected to mention he was trying to capture Lina and the others and sell them off at an auction. Or that his friends that I had to kill defending us were a band of robbers, I suppose."

He stared at her, wide-eyed. "You mean I..."

She nodded. "You've been had."

Alemo chuckled. "I think it's the great Race Quim who's been had... he paid me in advance to kill or capture the lot of you. He even asked if I was the wyvern slayer he'd heard about. I said yes at the time... I didn't realize he meant for me to kill another wyvern. I just thought he was referring to me as the wyvern _killer_, not the _wyvern_ killer!" He grinned broadly, leaning back in his chair. "Joke's on him."

* * * * *

Despite Alemo's mother protesting, Mayaki insisted on preparing breakfast in return for their hospitality. Emma Debarro extended an open invitation for Mayaki and her friends to come back and stay with them anytime. Alemo saw the little band out, still peering suspiciously at Xellos. He pulled Mayaki aside for a little talk.

"I don't trust Mazoku. They're nothing but trouble. Why are you traveling with one?" he whispered to her.

Mayaki looked annoyed at her half brother. "Xellos says his orders are to look after Lina. Mostly he's just a pest and keeps critical information from us when we need it the most. Nothing to worry about" She cast a glance at Xellos, trying to look irritated with him, though in the end, it came out more like a look of admiration.

"Listen, Mayaki... he's evil, and he'll do anything to spread that evil. I know you like him, but watch yourself."

Mayaki gasped and blushed. "What? I..."

"You've only been staring at him since I met you. There's something in your eyes when you look at him. Just don't get yourself in trouble, fawning over that demon. He could turn on all of you at any time..."

"Stop it!" she snapped at him. "Xellos is my friend, so stop talking about him like he's just some common monster! I don't like it!"

"Neither do I," he muttered. Then he hugged her. "You take care of yourself, little sister.. Good luck in finding us a cure." His expression was unsmiling, but it showed deep care and concern for her.

Mayaki forced down her temper. "I will," she nodded.

Alemo gave her the barest hint of a grin, then looked up to the rest of the troupe. "Where will you go now?"

Lina shrugged one shoulder at him. "We'll probably head north, since you say you haven't been there yet."

He nodded. "Send word if you find anything, or any trace of my father."

"We will," Zel told him, shaking his hand. Gourry did the same afterward.

Zelgaddis caught up with Mayaki as she strode along, eager to get out of the city. "Hey... you okay?"

"Fine..." she growled sullenly.

"That didn't sound 'fine' to me..."

"I'm _fine_! Just drop it!"

Zel stopped and stared after her for a minute, then jogged to catch up to her. "What's wrong with you all of a sudden? This isn't the Mayaki I know..."

"Oh, and you know me so well?"

He growled back at her. "I thought I did."

Her eyes teared up as she looked at him, then, angrily, she turned away. "Well, you were wrong." She ran ahead then dropped to a walk, keeping a fast pace to outdistance him.

"Mayaki!" he called after her with a slight whine in his voice. He huffed. "Fine." He turned his head, refusing to look at her, but soon found himself drawn back to her as Xellos floated down and landed next to her.

He put a hand on her shoulder and said something to her softly, to which she shook her head and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "I'm fine..." Zel heard her repeat. Xellos smiled back at her and tipped her chin up, floating away from her again. Mayaki eased a little at his comforting. Zelgaddis scowled. He almost didn't notice Amelia at his side.

"What's wrong with Miss Mayaki?" she asked.

"I don't know..." Zelgaddis said curiously, balling his fists worriedly.

Mayaki strolled along sulkily until a small crowd of people caught her attention. They seemed to be listening to a tale told by a man sitting against the side of a building. Mayaki stopped for a moment, getting more and more curious as she listened, recognizing the voice.

"Wait a second, you guys," she said, walking closer to the crowd.

"So then, the evil wyvern came at me, and I fought her off as best as I could, swinging my sword at her, one, two! One, two! But it was no good, because of the horrible scales of armor she had across her chest!" The crowd of listeners gasped. "The beast was too much for me," the man continued. "She forced me back with her snapping jaws and tripped me with her tail and kicked me across the face, blinding me, which is why I wear this bandage over my eyes, as you see and I cannot."

Mayaki shouldered her way through to the front of the crowd, Lina and the others right behind her. She looked down on the tale-telling beggar and grinned wickedly.

The man continued his story, unaware of her presence. "There I was, lost in the forest with an evil wyvern attacking me, and me not being able to see a thing! But, lucky for me, I kept a hold of my sword, and as the creature roared, lowering its head to finish me off and eat me, I swung out at the sound and lopped her horrible head off!" Some of the man's audience cheered and applauded lightly at his victory. Mayaki did not, keeping her eyes fixed on her enemy. The blinded bandit went on, "So I came out of the fight victorious, my friends, but the victory is a bittersweet one for me, for now I can no longer see to continue my travels as I have in the past, and cannot even open a shop as a merchant, for I would not be able to tell if anyone was... robbing me blind, so to speak. So please, if my tale has entertained you, leave a copper or two in my bowl so that I can support myself in this cruel and unjust world, and you will have my thanks and the blessings of the gods." Gaining the pity of much of his audience, the man thanked them as one by one they came forward to add copper and silver pieces to his begging bowl.

When most of the crowd was gone, Mayaki stepped up, digging a few coppers out of her pouch. She stood, blocking the sunshine that fell on the blind man, alerting him of her. "Thank you," he said as she dropped the coins into his basin, making a cheerful clink.

"That's a very interesting tale you told, my friend," she said lowly. "But perhaps you shouldn't stretch the truth so much, or I'll have to come back and finish what I started with your eyes."

The man cringed and began begging for his life, going before her on his knees. Mayaki humphed satisfactorily and stalked off, leaving the man breathing a sigh of relief. The rest of the group followed her.

"Miss Mayaki, that was really mean! Why did you do that?" Amelia scolded timidly.

"Yeah, you already blinded him... did you have to scare him to death too?" Gourry asked her scornfully.

"That was downright cruel. Don't tell me it was your temper this time," Zel added, catching her by the arm. She quickly jerked it away.

"He was only a bandit, you guys," she said sharply. "Lina kills them all the time without a thought."

"Yeah, but even Lina doesn't go around torturing people after she fights them," Gourry countered.

"That's right!" Lina added, though she thought, *...mostly because there's not much left to torture after I'm done with them...* "Besides, you already gave the guy what was coming to him."

Mayaki chuckled. "Maybe a little reminder will do him good." She confidently pulled ahead of the rest of the group by several paces. Xellos floated around her, playfully prodding her with his staff. She laughed cheerily at him. 

Lina, Gourry, Zel, and Amelia stared after her. "That was really weird..." Lina thought aloud.

"Something's not right," Zel muttered, trying to put his finger on the reason.

Xellos landed and began walking beside Mayaki. "That was excellent!" he told her, quietly enough that the rest couldn't hear him. "You're getting good... could you feel how scared you had him?"

Mayaki giggled. "Feel it? I could taste it! He was terrified!"

Xellos chuckled with her, then looked at her more seriously. "I believe the others may be getting suspicious. Perhaps we should cut back on your evil this evening."

"But Xellos..." she protested.

"Tut-tut, Miss Sora. You wouldn't want to give away our secret, would you now?" He grinned squintily at her. "You should go and make up with Zelgaddis. Act guilty, he'll fall for that."

Mayaki smirked and nodded. "Not just yet, though. Let him brood awhile."

Xellos chuckled as he floated off. "Clever."

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	16. Chapter 15: The Hunter and the Hunted

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 15: The Hunter and the Hunted

After walking alone and in silence for a while, Mayaki dropped her pace so that Zelgaddis and Amelia eventually came up beside her, and she fell in with their gait. She seemed quite pensive, and refused to look up for a while.

Zel glanced over at her out of the corner of his eye for a long time. When she finally looked up guiltily, he realized she was waiting until they could be alone to talk. "Amelia," he said softly, "why don't you go see if Lina and Gourry could use a hand with the horse."

"Mister Gourry just took him over... I think they're okay..."

"Well, go _see_, okay?"

Amelia looked hurt. "All right..." The two of them watched as she dragged herself disappointedly up to Lina and Gourry, who were, at the moment, trying to shoo Xellos away from the already nervous pack horse.

They both started at the same instant. "Zelgaddis, I..."

"Mayaki, I..." They stopped, blinked at each other, and laughed.

Mayaki picked up the conversation first. "I wanted to say I was sorry for the way I acted this morning... my Mazoku side kind of had a hold on me..."

"I figured it was something like that," Zel replied with a nod. "I think your being around Xellos so much might have something to do with it. He might be influencing you without your knowledge."

She ducked her head and blushed conscientiously. He only had an idea, but it was pretty accurate, for all it lacked. She played innocent as best as she could manage. "You... you think Xellos is doing this to me?"

"I wouldn't put it past him. I'm not saying he is necessarily even doing anything, but he seems to be hanging around you an awful lot, and you don't seem to mind him being around. He might be attracted to your Mazoku side and is drawing it out of you, on purpose or not."

"Xellos? But..." she started.

Zel gave her a sidelong glance. "He's a very powerful monster, Mayaki. I've seen him do cruel things you wouldn't believe him capable of. Don't let him fool you. Xellos is extremely evil." Mayaki blinked at him. "I want you to stay away from him, if you can. Will you do that for me?"

She hesitated. "Y..yyyyeeess..." she said, almost guiltily.

"Mayaki," he said very seriously. "I care for you very, very much. I don't want to see Xellos bringing out the worst in you and making you do evil things because I know that's not like you. Promise me. Promise me you'll stay away from him."

"I'll... I'll try, Zelgaddis..." Deep down, part of her was saying, *Gods, I'm a rotten little liar...*

After another little silence, Mayaki asked, "What's up with Amelia? She's sure moody..."

Zel stared over at the Seyruun princess, who had her arm up over her eyes and appeared to be wiping something away. "I don't know," he said guiltily, knowing he must have had something to do with it.

Mayaki did feel a little twinge of guilt herself at the treacherous ruse she was playing out. She really did like Zelgaddis, but, well, other things had priority over him at the moment....

* * * * *

The crowds had ceased. No one was on the streets, so most of the shops must have been closing or closed for the night. The air was cooler, and Leam could no longer feel the rays of the sun even weakly. He momentarily regretted the fact that he hadn't been able to see the sunset, and never would again.

He picked up his bowl and ran his fingers through the coins he had taken in that day. Not nearly as much as he would have made as a bandit, sure, but enough to get by on... for now. What would he do once the crowd stopped paying to hear his tale? When winter came and they no longer cared to stand around in the cold listening to a story? Perhaps he could beg a ride from a kind traveler to take him to the next town, or head south for the winter. It wasn't as cold there. How degrading it all was, having to sing for his supper and fumble his way along the streets without his eyes to guide him. By the time he found his way out of the woods and reached a town with a suitable healer, they told him it was impossible to heal his eyes. Damn that girl, doing this to him...

Heavy footsteps sounded in front of him, made intentionally loud to alert him. "Well, look at you."

Leam perked up at the voice. "Race! Oh, Race, it's you! You've come back for me!"

Race glowered at him for a moment, then grinned widely. "Yes, friend Leam, yes, I have. So good to see you."

"If only I could say the same, Race," the larger man said, feeling along the wall beside him.

"Yes. The wyvern only took your eyes. You should be grateful. She killed half the others. I only just escaped with my life as well. I even left my sword behind."

Leam snorted bitterly. "Was no mercy she did me, Race. Reduced to begging, not able to fight or even walk down the street without stumbling on the cobbles." Race took his elbow and steered him around a corner. "Ah, thank you. I've been staying with a kind innkeeper and his wife a few streets away to the west...which way are we going now?"

"North," Race lied, steering his blind friend into an alley.

"Damn that wyvern girl... I only hope someone will show her the same mercy she showed me."

"That's all taken care of, Leam. Don't you worry a bit about it. I sent an assassin after her yesterday morning."

Leam laughed ruefully. "Oh, then a fine job your assassin did, friend. She came and dropped some coppers in my bowl this morning. Came by to warn me about defaming her."

"What?!" Race exclaimed. "Impossible. Someone must have been playing a trick on you."

"Race, she said she would come back and finish what she started with my eyes. I know it was her, I recognized the voice! She'll come back and kill me, Race!" The man jittered and shook so much at the thought that his bowl with all its contents began to jingle and rattle musically.

"Here, let me take that before you spill your earnings," Race all but commanded the blind man, who gratefully handed it over. "Now, do you remember where they were headed, Leam? Did you hear her or her friends talking?"

"Well," Leam thought aloud, "it was about eleven this morning. I was facing the south, and the wretched wyvern came at me from my right, so east, and then she and her friends-that Lina Inverse character we were after and the rest-they left going north, I think. I could hear them talking as they went. There's a road that way that leads out of town, so I'm told."

Race patted his shoulder. "Don't you worry, Leam. I'll get your vengeance for you. I'll tear the wyvern's eyes out one at a time while she's still alive. How 'bout that, hm? You've been very helpful."

"Bless you Race. You're a good soul... er... this doesn't seem like the right way to Reller's inn... er... Race?" The hand was no longer on his elbow. Leam turned around in the alley, trying to get his bearings. "Race?"

Race's dagger whipped through Leam's neck, quick and clean. His last thought as he rapidly lost blood was that even if he still had his sight, he wouldn't have seen _this_ coming. No honor among thieves....

"Rest peacefully now, Leam. A life as a useless beggar was not for you. I hope I've put you out of your misery before you dishonored yourself too much." He examined the contents of Leam's bowl. "Hm. Not a bad day's work, my friend. You should have taken up trade as a storyteller rather than a bandit, I think. But, let's let the past stay in the past, shall we?" He kicked Leam's motionless body, and it flopped over like a rag doll. Race carefully opened his own purse and poured the coins from the bowl into it soundlessly. Then he set the bowl overturned on Leam's stomach, giving the blind and dead man a comical-looking potbelly. He left the alley in a casual stroll, looking as if he was enjoying the mild evening.

So, the wyvern killer hadn't kept up his end of the deal. Race let that go... his price was cheap enough, even if his requisites were a bit strict. Besides, Alemo wasn't the one he was after. In fact, the stupid boy was probably dead if he hadn't gotten the job done. The only other thing Race could figure was that the assassin had found some ridiculously chivalrous reason to let them go. Idiot boy. Nevermind. Still, he had to find some allies before attacking the wyvern again. Sprogen probably had some likely candidates somewhere. And there was the matter of striking the beast and getting past that hideous armor.

Race strode evenly down the street, stroking his chin. "Archers..." he said aloud, laughing at how simple a plan it was. Simple, but it would be effective.

* * * * *

Mayaki eagerly sucked the mist out of Xellos's hand as he offered it, enjoying the fine, pure taste of the emotions. He kissed her sweetly when she was finished.

"Only a few days more, and I'll take you to my Master, who will then be _our_ Master," he smiled at her.

Mayaki grinned back at him. "Good. It's hard enough keeping up appearances in front of Zel. He suspects you."

"I guessed as much," the Mazoku priest sighed. "He usually does. Of course, I always give him reason to."

Mayaki leaned wearily against the trunk of a tree. "I don't like going around behind their backs."

"Deception must run in your blood as well. Your father was good at it, and so are you."

Mayaki sighed. "Xellos?"

"Yes, my sweet?"

She debated asking the question on her mind. "If Mazoku aren't able to love," she cringed and almost choked on speaking the word, "then... what is it that I feel for you?" And...do you..." she trailed off.

"Shh... nevermind what it's called, so long as it exists. And yes, I feel the same for you. Otherwise, why would I be spending so much of my time and energy to train you?" he grinned.

"Sorry if that isn't exactly reassuring to me..." she mumbled.

"Well, then, let me put it another way. You're the first person to catch my attention in at least 500 years."

"500 years?" she repeated.

"Well, of course there are human girls who are nice to look at, any man will tell you the same. But honestly, they only last so long before the beauty fades. Barely a season in a Mazoku's life. Oh, but there was one. Aryssa was her name. She wrote beautiful poetry... mourning the beautiful things in life and praising evil and the Dark Lords. I worked long and hard to subvert her. The only hitch was, she had to die in order to become a monster. She took her own life the instant I told her that... my dead, insane Aryssa..."

"What happened?" Mayaki asked curiously.

Xellos's voice was flat and empty as he answered. "Greater Beast Zelas decided that she didn't care to have any servant but me, especially if she was insane to begin with. She would be much too hard to train."

Mayaki gawped, then involuntarily took a step backwards.

Xellos looked up at her. "No, no... don't you worry... it's different with you. You're already part Mazoku, so you don't have to die in order to become one of us. Enough evil in your soul, and you'll switch right over."

Mayaki stewed. "What if Zelas doesn't like me?" she said at long last.

"Like I said, don't worry about it. I'll take care of things," he replied, nuzzling her neck. "and I'll take care of you. You have my word."

"The word of a demon," she mused, somewhat bitterly.

"It's worth much more than you know," he said with a gentle kiss. "Now, how about we work on your firebreath?"

"Aaaak," squawked the wyvern.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	17. Chapter 16: The Ice Capades, It's Not

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 16: The Ice Capades, It's Not

Mayaki knelt patiently beside the campfire embers, keeping a careful eye on a strange stack of pots and pans. Not having an oven at her beck and call had finally gotten to her, and (necessity the mother of invention) she had put one together from her other utensils. The big cast-iron stew pot was on the bottom, resting on the coals. Inside it was her vegetable steamer. It didn't have vegetables in it at the moment, though. It was upturned, serving as more of a shelf. On it were resting every measuring cup and mug that the troupe had... Mayaki's evil side had more or less compelled her to swipe them for this little project. No one would mind, so long as her little experiment in campfire cuisine turned out all right. And Zel could suffer a little while without his coffee.

Various forks and spoons were wedged between the stew pot and Mayaki's carefully upturned skillet, keeping the heat in while allowing steam to escape so the whole monument didn't explode from the pressure.

Mayaki sniffed the air wafting out from the contraption. "Ahh, almost ready!"

She rose up, scouted around, and finally headed over to a nearby tree with a dead branch. She snapped a small twig off and whittled it down with one of her throwing knives, skinning the bark off so that it wouldn't get into the food. When she was finished, she had a reasonable facsimile of a toothpick. She skipped back to the mishmash of cooking utensils and lifted the skillet up carefully, catching the various pieces of flatware before they fell.

As the morning light fell across the plain where they camped, warming the air comfortably, Zelgaddis began to stir and sat up. He shucked off his bedroll, shook it out and folded it compactly, setting it near the tree where the horse was tied. After that, he joined Mayaki by the dying fire. "Good morning," he greeted cordially.

"Morning!" Mayaki grinned sweetly, without a trace of evil about her.

"You're up awfully early," he said.

She gazed east toward the sunrise. "Yeah, I guess I am, a little." She giggled. "I had to bake something or I was gonna go crazy!"

Zel laughed appreciatively and stirred the coals with a stick while Mayaki pricked her creations with the makeshift toothpick to check their doneness. "They're ready!" she cheered, carefully hooking the cups out of the pot with the bent handle of a ladle.

"What in the world are you making?!" Zel asked, puzzled by the odd setup. He smelled the air, trying to place the delicious scent. "Whatever it is, it smells wonderful...and hey! What are you doing with my coffee cup?" He sounded a little hurt at having his possession snitched.

"Mayaki Avi-Sora's soon-to-be-famous campfire-cooked brambleberry muffins! And hush, you can have it back in a minute. Coffee won't be ready for a little while anyway." She quickly took her apron off and spread it out on the grass, turning the cups over onto it and letting the muffins drop out, each fluffy as could be with a slight golden-brown crust to them. "Here," she offered, holding the apron out toward Zelgaddis before folding it up to keep the warmth in. "Better have one before they get cold, or Lina and Gourry wake up and eat the rest." As Zel took one and held it up to his nose, savoring the aroma of the fresh, hot berry juice, Mayaki bustled around, putting the stew pot away and setting the coffeepot on the iron spider over the coals to boil. (Yes, there is such a thing and yes, that's what it's called.) She carefully measured a scoop of grounds into it, then was off again, cleaning up the dishes, making sure the horse was properly fed and watered, and taking care of other little chores around the camp until there was absolutely nothing left to do. Zel watched her thoughtfully as he chewed on his muffin, trying not to gobble the whole thing down at once. On the other side of camp, Lina groaned and buried her head under her pillow, blocking the light. Everyone else would be awake soon, and Zel didn't know if he would get another opportunity...

"Mayaki," he called softly, motioning her over. She looked up at him curiously and hurried over, sitting beside him.

"Yeah, Zel?" She saw the worried, anxious look on his stone face. "What is it?"

He spoke softly when he answered, careful that no one would hear him. "I want you to stick close to me today, okay?"

Mayaki blinked at him. "But..."

"Please. It would just make me feel better."

She gave him a deadpanned look. "I know how to take care of myself."

Zel gave her the barest of grins in return. "I never doubted that. But will you?"

A warm smile spread across her face. "All right."

"Hey, wow! Muffins!" Gourry interrupted them, taking one in each hand from Mayaki's apron and eating off of both. "Mmm! Really good!"

Mayaki looked over her shoulder at him. "'Morning, Gourry."

"Did you say _muffins_?" Lina jerked up from under her pillow. She smelled the fresh baked goods and drooled slightly. "Eee! Gimme!" She was out of her bedroll and into the muffins in a flash, fighting Gourry for them as usual.

"Hey, wait a minute! Don't eat them all! I haven't had any yet!" Mayaki screeched, trying to garner a few muffins from the batch. "And neither has Amelia! You guys better save her some!"

Zelgaddis sighed at them all. "I'd better go wake her up," he muttered. He got up and headed around to where Amelia was sleeping. He stooped to one knee and gently shook her by the shoulder. "Amelia..."

Amelia sighed and rolled on her side. "Mmmm..."

"Come on, Amelia. Wake up," Zel said softly.

"Mister Zelgaddis, you're being very naughty... now call me queen..." she muttered in her sleep. "...in the name of Justice..."

Zelgaddis recoiled with a little yell. He blushed deeply. His yelp startled Amelia awake, and she sat up. She looked around in panic and caught sight of Zelgaddis, who stared back at her in embarrassed bewilderment.

"Aaaah! Mister Zelgaddis! I'm so sorry!" She turned bright red and tried to hide behind her pillow, scooting out of and away from her bedroll. "I was doing it again, wasn't I?

"Um..." he replied, trying not to make her feel bad. "I-it's okay, Amelia... it's not your fault. It's not like you could control what you were dreaming or anything..." He looked up slightly, eyes focusing on a spot where they really shouldn't have, just above where the pillow she was holding ended. For as young as the Seyruun princess was, Zel observed, she was showing a good amount of cleavage. He blushed deeper and snapped his eyes downward, squinching them shut. "A-anyway, I came to see if you wanted some breast-I mean, BREAKfast..." He looked back toward the campfire. Lina, Gourry, and Mayaki all stared at him, the muffins temporarily forgotten. Lina smiled bemusedly. He groaned. At least Xellos wasn't around to heckle him this morning. "Excuse me, Amelia. I think I'll just go find a tree to bang my head against..." he muttered to her, getting up while still keeping his eyes firmly shut.

Amelia watched him go, still embarrassed herself enough to burst, then looked down at her chest and squeaked, clutching the pillow even tighter to her chest once she realized where he had been looking. "I want to die..." she said, dropping her face into it with a puff.

* * * * *

"Looks like it's gonna be a nice day," Zel commented once they were on the road.

"Yeah," Mayaki grinned. *Pity,* some part of her complained, making her smile turn to a grimace. "Where are we supposed to be headed again?"

Zelgaddis shook his head. "No telling, really, though I think the map said something about a town called Erelim within about two days' walk."

"Hm."

In back of them, Amelia trodded along quietly. Mayaki knew she was brooding over her morning's embarrassment, and just for that reason, took Zel's hand as they walked. Zelgaddis looked slightly surprised, but said nothing. Mayaki didn't have to turn around to know Amelia had seen her make her move; she could taste the bitter jealousy Amelia was full of... quite delicious. Mayaki soaked the raw emotion up like a sponge. *Soon,* she thought, *soon, I'll be a Mazoku like Xellos, and we'll live together forever!*

Amelia burned inside while she glared at Mayaki and Zelgaddis. *Why does he like _her_ so much over me?* she thought. *I hate Miss Mayaki. I wish she would just go back to her stupid little inn and leave Zelgaddis for _me_.*

She was occupied in thoughts like these for the better part of an hour. In fact, she was so occupied that she didn't notice a sharp rock embedded in the rutted old road they were traveling down. It registered as she was falling that something had caught her toe and she'd tripped. She hit the ground and skidded on the gravel a few inches.

The entire group heard her hit with a little "Mmf!" as the wind was knocked out of her and she bit her tongue, making it bleed.

"Amelia!" Zel gasped, dropping Mayaki's hand.

"Oh... poor Amelia..." Mayaki said sympathetically, thought it sounded more than a little cynical. Nevertheless, she knelt to help the girl back to her feet.

"Amelia, are you all right?" Zelgaddis checked her over with concern, standing her up and dusting her off.

"I'm fine!" she snapped, pulling away from him. "You don't always have to treat me like a little kid!" Tears in her eyes, she ran ahead of them. Zel's jaw dropped open.

Lina tried to stop her as she all but flew past, hiding her eyes with her arm. "Amelia! Hey, Amelia!"

Gourry blinked as she passed them. "What was that all about?"

"I dunno..." answered Lina, just as puzzled. "Why the hell is everyone acting so weird lately?" she groaned.

A few minutes later, as they entered a more wooded area, Xellos dropped out of a tree and joined them. "What did you guys do to Amelia? She tore past here a few minutes ago spitting blood and she was practically boiling over with negative emotions! What did I miss?"

"She tripped," Zel said flatly, putting an arm around Mayaki's shoulders. "It would be nice of you to start showing some compassion, you know." He led Mayaki past the rather stunned Xellos. Mayaki kept her head hung guiltily, but she met his eyes briefly as she was steered quickly down the road. It was a look of utter mischief. Xellos caught it and nodded approvingly.

Somewhere up ahead of them, Amelia let out a short scream.

"Amelia!" Lina yelled, running toward the source of Amelia's shriek. Gourry drew his sword and followed, right on her heels.

"Lina, you should probably know something before we get too much further.."

"What is it, Gourry?"

"We're surrounded."

Lina stopped running, slowing to a halt as Gourry's words sunk in. "Great. I really wish you would let me know these things a little sooner, ya know?" She glanced up the road to see Amelia being held at knifepoint by an old acquaintance. "Hello again, Race."

"Miss Inverse, always a pleasure," he nodded slyly as Zel, Mayaki, and Xellos caught up to Lina and Gourry. "I really must insist the wyvern girl comes with me this time, or the little princess here will have one less means of breathing."

"The hell she will!" Lina snarled, getting ready to throw a fireball at the bandit leader.

"Lina, stop! You'll hit Amelia!" Zel shouted at her.

Lina nodded. "Hate to admit it, but you're right. Gourry?"

Gourry growled at Race as he stepped forward, ready to attack. "Tut," Race warned. "I wouldn't come very much closer if I were you, and I wanted her to live. I might get nervous and cut the girl's throat by accident."

Gourry stopped to sort the jumbled sentence out. "Uhh.." He turned back to Lina. "What does he mean?"

"He means get your ass back here," Lina grumbled.

Amelia whimpered and struggled, trying to get out of the headlock Race had her in.

"Let her go, Race," Mayaki spat, stepping forward. "Your quarrel's with me, not any of them."

"Ah, Miss Wyvern! There you are! And yet, these friends of yours always seem to insist on poking their noses into business that is just between you and I... Not very polite of them, is it?"

Zelgaddis stepped up next to her. "Now your fight is with me as well, Race. That's a very dear friend of mine that you're holding hostage there." Amelia gave him a look of appreciation. He acknowledged it, catching her eyes for less than a second, but it reassured her immensely. "If you'd care to settle things like a man, not hiding behind an innocent girl, you'll at least die with some honor."

"Zel, let me handle this," Mayaki insisted, only to be waved back.

Race guffawed. "Really, Zelgaddis, do you take me for an idiot? To let go of such a precious bargaining chip?" He pinched one of Amelia's cheeks. "And she _is_ a precious little doll, isn't she?" Amelia snarled in disgust and ground her foot down hard into his instep, then kicked him sharply in the shin and made a run for it, stumbling back behind Zelgaddis.

"Way to go, Amelia!" Mayaki cheered, sapping Race's pain and hatred. She was pleased that Amelia was all right, of course. Evil though Mayaki was, the crusading princess was still on _her_ side... at least for the time being. Race cocked his head at them, rubbing his painfully sore shin. "I suppose we will do this the hard way after all, then. Now," he said to the bushes around him.

Four young sorcerers appeared from the brush, surrounding the group. Three were young men, the fourth was a woman. "Freeze Array!" they shouted in unison. A coating of ice spread across the road and the forest floor, creating a slick, hazardous pond. 

Lina scoffed. "You really think that's going to work??" she jeered. "Fireball!" She summoned the spell, and blinked when nothing happened. "Fireball!" she tried again. Nothing. "Lightening?" she attempted. A tiny speck of light appeared at her fingertip, then fizzled and died like a shooting star. She watched it with a certain measure of disgust. "Shit. I'm early this month... looks like I'm out of the running."

"Looks like we're up, as usual," Zelgaddis motioned to Gourry, drawing the thin blade at his waist while preparing a spell. "Flare-yaagh!" He misstepped on the slick surface and fell forward, sword rattling far away from him.

As he reached for it, the lady mage yelled "Shadow Snap!" and threw a small dagger at his shadow, effectively pinning it to the ground. With his shadow pinned, Zel was stuck, facedown on the ice. "Damn..." he muttered, annoyed more than anything else.

Gourry, on the other hand, easily accommodated to the frozen conditions, skating easily toward one of the other sorcerers. "Icicle Lance!" the man he was attacking shouted, aiming at the swordsman. Gourry quickly braked and spun around, slicing off the end of the flying icicle as he did. "Hey... look what I made!" he muttered. He experimentally pushed the piece of ice around on the pond.

From the sidelines, Lina shouted at him furiously. "Can't you focus for just a minute?!"

"But Lina..."

"You're supposed to be whomping the bad guys! Now get to it!"

Gourry skated slightly sideways, being narrowly missed by an ice arrow as he obsessed over the little disk of ice. He pushed it back and forth with the end of his sword. "Hey Lina! This is really neat!"

"Gourry!" she growled, then followed it with an "Eek!" as one of the sorcerers came after her. She ducked into the bushes and ran, trying to keep an eye on the rest of the battle. Watching the man in back of her, she sped along the outer edge of the ice, not watching where she was going so much as watching for things to dodge. The second sorcerer didn't see her coming in enough time to react either, and as he put his hands up in defense, she plowed right into him. Lina shook herself and looked down at the equally shocked mage, who (unfortunately for him) had his hands squashed right into Lina's chest. "AAAAAUUGGGHHH!!" her angry scream echoed through the area, causing everything to rattle. Lina grabbed the astonished man by the shirt and pitched him roughly onto the icy plane that had formerly been the road. He slid halfway across it before coming to a stop, then tried to carefully pick himself up without sliding too much.

"Bit slick, eh?" Gourry said, coming straight for him, pushing the chip of ice along in front of him with his sword. The sorcerer wasn't sure what do to, and in the end tried sliding away from the larger swordsman. Luck was not on his side this particular day though, and Gourry had much more speed built up. He slammed the mage into a nearby tree, himself easily bouncing off and continuing to push the little icy puck around. The sorcerer, meanwhile, went down for the count.

Mayaki, meanwhile, glided her way across the ice to try to free Zelgaddis. She pulled at the knife holding his shadow down with all her might. "It's no good, it's stuck!"

"That won't work.. the blade stays put until the spell's broken," he told her. "I need someone to cast a light spell. And Lina isn't able to do anything at the moment..."

"I'll get Amelia," Mayaki nodded and carefully skated her way off the ice toward the little Seyruun princess. "Amelia! ...Oh shoot."

The younger girl was locked in battle with the lady sorceress, dodging bolts and sending ones of her own back in exchange. There was no way she could go anywhere or even erect a shield with the battle going as fiercely as it was. Mayaki watched helplessly from the sidelines. Bolts were flying so fast and furious that even Mayaki's knives wouldn't do much good... one hit would send them off target.. and a hit in this barrage seemed pretty likely.

And then an idea struck her. She unfastened her hooded cape and took it off, and held it carefully by the sides. Creeping around the side of the lady mage, and dodging the occasional stray Icicle Lance and Freeze Arrow, she eventually managed to get directly behind her. The woman was so focused on her battle with Amelia that she didn't see or hear Mayaki at all. It was rather a surprise for her when she was yanked over backward by a hood from out of nowhere.

Amelia stopped casting Flare Arrows and waved. "Thanks, Miss Mayaki!"

"Save that for later! Zel needs your help!"

"Right!" The little justice warrior was off like a shot, gliding easily across the ice.

Mayaki looked down to where her victim should have been. "Um.. uhoh..." Out in the open, she stood, looking around for the sorceress.

"Gourry! Help!" Lina squalled, running from the first mage.

Gourry wheeled around on the ice, still keeping control of the piece of ice. "Hey you!" he shouted at the mage. The man looked up at Gourry, just in time to see him draw his sword back and slap the piece of ice straight toward him. As he yelped, it hit him square in the teeth and down he went. "Score!" Gourry shouted victoriously, skating around with his sword held over his head.

"Aaa! Mister Gourry! Look out!" Amelia flinched and tried to duck as they collided and fell in a heap. The large swordsman was knocked for a loop as they hit the ice and rolled, eventually landing on top of the diminutive princess, pinning her down by force of mass alone. "Erk...Great one, Mister Gourretzky.." she mumbled before passing out herself.

"Wonderful.." Mayaki muttered to herself, carefully toddling out onto the ice to wake Amelia up. Trying not to slide too much she edged her way across the pond. Off to her right, the female mage squeaked and stood up, Lina's slim sword held against her throat. "Ha! Never underestimate Lina Inverse, ESPECIALLY when she's PMS-ing!" she crowed. She and Mayaki exchanged a triumphant grin, but Lina's expression suddenly changed. "Mayaki! Behind you!" she shouted.

An Ice Arrow cut her across the shoulder. She screeched with surprise and pain, loosing her footing and landing hard on her tailbone. She looked back over her shoulder to see the sorcerer Gourry had checked against the tree. He was still trying to catch his breath, but aside of losing a few teeth in the battle, he was ready to fight. He aimed another spell at Mayaki. She gasped and tried to pull one of her knives to throw at him...

"Fireball!" The globe of flame came to life with a whoosh and shot over the ice with a gesture from its sender's hand. Mayaki flinched...

...and watched as the volunteer sorcerer was knocked flat on his back, engulfed in flame. She whipped her head around to see the source. Zel smiled satisfactorily from his prone position, one arm outstretched to send the spell.

That made three accounted for.

Mayaki pushed herself to her feet, throwing knife in hand. She glanced around in panic.. the man could have been anywhere! By luck alone, she happened to be looking the right direction when number four popped up to cast a spell at her. She was faster with the knife than he was at spellcasting, though. He didn't so much as have time to react as the knife embedded itself in his throat. He let out a gurgle as he collapsed.

Sarcastic applause greeted her from the unfrozen portion of the road. "Very impressive, Miss Wyvern. But I do think it's a pity you can't fight your own battles very well. Oh well. Adieu, until we meet again." Race turned his back on her and began slowly striding away from her.

"Just where the hell do you think you're going?" Mayaki shrieked at him, nearly loosing her footing on the slick surface again.

Race looked over his shoulder to smirk at her, and _ran_.

Mayaki screamed in frustration, sounding almost more wyvern than human. She pitched a pair of her knives at him, but he was already too far away to hit. "Aaaarrrggghh! He's getting away!" She scuffled her feet, trying to propel herself toward the edge of the ice, but getting nowhere for her efforts. "Goddammit!"

"It'd be a real shame to let him just escape, don't you think?" Xellos said, casually perched on a convenient tree branch, having a cup of tea. "Go after him."

"I don't suppose you'd like to help," she asked wearily.

The Mazoku grinned down at her. "Time for you to fly, my little bird."

"Fly... Hmm, fly!" she thought aloud. Flashing to her wyvern shape with a burst of green mist and easily launched off the ice.

Zelgaddis stared from his low vantage point. He'd never seen so much hate in her eyes. "Mayaki!" he called after her as she rose up over the treetops with a few graceful swoops of her wings. Maybe he could still reason with her. "Mayaki, no!"

"Raaaaeeeeck.." replied the wyvern spitefully as she sailed after Race.

Xellos bobbed down next to him. "Well, aren't you a mess, Zel?"

The chimaera struggled against the grasp of the Shadow Snap. "You do anything to her, Xellos, and I swear on all I am, I'll kill you."

"Tsk, tsk. I was just going to ask you if you wanted up." Zel growled at him. The Mazoku smiled mischievously. "I'll take that as a yes. Lightening!" The light spell caused Zel's shadow to disappear and he quickly got to his feet, leaping off the frozen pond of road and dashing after the wyvern. Xellos smirked and tried to sound disinterested. "Oh well. I may as well go along to watch." He glided along after Zelgaddis, hovering just above the ground.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	18. Chapter 17: Pain and Perseverence

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 17: Pain and Perseverance

Race forced himself to run as far and as fast as he could. He'd paced himself until he was sure the wyvern had gotten airborne, and then opened up into an all-out pelt. He reached the little grove of trees just as she was diving at him. Hampered by her own altitude, the wyvern had no hope of following him into the trees on wing. She swooped upward gracefully, looping over to hover midair in front of the grove, either waiting for him to come out the other side or debating whether going after him on foot would be prudent.

To her back was another small, wooded glade. Race chuckled to himself. He had her.

"NOW! HIT HER!" he yelled, out of breath though he was.

The archers, hidden in the woods at Mayaki's back, took aim at the vulnerable target presented before them.

* * * * *

Zelgaddis and Xellos cleared the trees just in time to see the arrows loose and fly toward the rose-colored wyvern. "No!" Zelgaddis screamed.

Mayaki heard him and turned her head in time to see the first of the arrows whiz past in her vision. *Arrow?* she thought, just as another ripped through her right wingsail and a third plunged deep into her back. She screamed in agony and fell. Her wings were useless... the right one refused to cup the air properly with a hole torn through it, and the left one shot hot streams of pure pain into her every time she tried to move it. *I'm dying...* she thought coherently as she fell, her body changing back to human shape of its own accord just before her impact.

"_Mayaki!_" Zelgaddis screamed, watching her plummet. His cry was quickly echoed by Xellos.

"Mayaki!" The two of them paused for a split second to stare at each other, then they shouted at her in unison. "_Mayaki!_" And they began running towards the falling girl.

*Ground,* she thought just before she hit. She landed on one side and bonelessly toppled onto her stomach. Her face was pushed into the ground at an angle with one eye to the dirt, though she could see hazily through the other. Her bangs made little russet-burgundy bands through her vision as they blew across her face in the light wind. *Is this what it feels like to die?* the still lucid parts of her mind asked. Things were foggy, all around her. She couldn't move, or didn't want to even if she could. The arrow that had brought her down stuck out of her back at a strange angle. It hurt her to breathe, so she didn't want to do that very much either, even though her lungs cried out for new air. *Pain,* she thought on a baser level. *Hurts...*

She barely registered the image of Zelgaddis running up to her, Xellos right beside him in the air. "Mayaki!" Zel cried, tilting her up. Her jaw dropped open with a gasp as she was shifted and burning needles seared through her organs. *painpainpain_painpain_PAINPAIN_PAIN**PAINMAKEITSTOP!**_*

"Zel... hurts..." she barely whispered.

"It's all right... you'll be okay. Let me heal you." He summoned the spell and declared, "Healing," pressing his hand to the bleeding wound. Mayaki sat up as if a pole had been driven into her spine and screamed bloody murder.

"Stop! Stop!" Xellos demanded. "Idiot! You're healing her right into the arrowhead. Let me see her!" Zelgaddis blinked in shock and obediently moved out of the way for Xellos to tend her, his only thought now for saving her life, even if it meant giving her to the Mazoku. Xellos carefully rested her against his lap as he knelt down, examining the arrow. "Too far in to back it out," he decided, without any of his normal amusement. "It'll have to go all the way through." He braced one fist on the arrow and broke the end off with his other hand. Mayaki whimpered loudly as her insides took some of the recoil. "Easy, little bird, the worst isn't over yet..." He turned to Zelgaddis. "be ready to heal her as soon as it's out," he said sternly.

"Right," Zel replied, equally serious, readying the spell.

Xellos stroked Mayaki's hair out of her face. "Mayaki, I want you to brace yourself as much as you can, darling, because this is going to hurt like holy hell. All right?" Mayaki gave a weak nod as Xellos took the broken shaft of the arrow in both hands, setting his staff aside. Then he used all his strength to force the arrow the rest of the way through her body, and out through her chest. She screamed like she was being burned alive as Xellos plunged the arrow deeper. Swift as the motion was, the pain made if feel like an eternity before the arrow finished passing through her vital organs and out between her lower ribs, scraping against the bone. Blood flowed freely from the new wound as Xellos grabbed the head of the arrow and pulled the shaft out. "Got it!" he shouted.

Zelgaddis balled his stone hands together and smashed Xellos in the face with them like a club. The Mazoku pitched over backward, landing in the dust a few feet away. He didn't move for a few moments, then sat up, rubbing his jaw sullenly.

Zel didn't know what had possessed him to do it, really. The monster was causing Mayaki pain, and somehow it had to be stopped. Stopping her pain was top priority. He focused his energy on the healing spell.

He concentrated and recited the spell , asking that the earth, mother of all, would grant strength and healing for Mayaki. "Healing," he cast quietly, guiding the power into the arrow's entry wound. The pain in her face gradually eased as the wound healed and closed up, good as new. Her breathing became more steady and the color returned to her cheeks.

She looked up into Zelgaddis's worried face, and it was only then that she realized he was holding her. One arm cradled her gently and supported her head as her body rested across his lap. *Oh, if circumstances were better, Zel* she thought to herself. *You are handy to have around, though.* She sat up and gave him a grateful hug, which he returned carefully, sighing with relief.

At least, she thought it might have been relief.

"Zelgaddis..."

"Easy now... Are you all right?"

Xellos appeared, leaning over Zel's left shoulder. "Well, I think so, but that was one heck of a punch you gave me with those stone fists of yours, Rocky. It's a good thing for you I like pain."

Zelgaddis's expression changed from caring to annoyed. "I wasn't talking to you."

Mayaki laughed joyfully, sitting up on her knees to throw her arms around the Mazoku. "Xellos!" she cried as she embraced him gleefully.

He snickered a little. "You and I are going to have to have a word about defense stratagems, my dear."  
"Xellos," she groaned. "That's all you have to say?"

He put his arm around her waist. "Well, I'll admit I am relieved that you're all right," he whispered, tilting her chin up to meet his eyes. "Wyverns are so hard to find these days..."

Zelgaddis meant to pull Mayaki away from Xellos... her really did, but there was something that wouldn't allow him to...

His jaw gaped open, but there were no words there... just a very large lump in the middle of his throat. She was in love with Xellos. Xellos! The damn demon always had to ruin his life in one way or another...

It wasn't just that, though. It was injury enough, but... she had _lied_ to him. Mayaki, he told himself, was a Mazoku, just like Xellos, no matter how many times she denied it or said she would never work with him... and she'd fallen for the conniving monster. A mournful sadness overwhelmed Zel at that moment so that he couldn't do anything to react except turn away so he wouldn't have to see any more. Mayaki's musical laughter reached his ears, and he clenched his eyes and fists, trying to block out the whole world.

"Yes, it still hurts, but only a little. I'll be all right soon..."

Xellos nodded. "Stay here, darling," Xellos grinned, giving Mayaki a quick wink and a peck on the lips. "There's something I have to attend to. Back before long!" He grabbed his staff and floated up in the air, looking back the way they'd come, at the little grove of trees where the archers were hidden. "Gaav Flare," he commanded darkly, aiming a finger at the glade. He appreciated the irony of using that particular spell as the three fuchsia bolts shot away from his hand, writhing and twisting around each other. Xellos had never cared for Gaav. He was a shortsighted fool with no sense of humor and bad taste. Nevertheless, he thought, for the spell to be working, Gaav's spirit must have been reincarnated. Oh well. Either way, this would be entertaining.

The flare spell flew into the trees, igniting the entire area as the bolts hit. If the archers had the lack of sense to stay there, they had no hope of escaping now. Xellos didn't particularly care about them; one rarely cares about the hired help. It was the head of the snake you had to worry about. The one he was after had fled in the other direction. The Mazoku could trace exactly where he had gone too, leaving behind a clear, bright trail of anger, hate, and revenge. The demon could all but see every footprint Race had left behind. He disappeared, following the path from the Astral Plane.

* * * * *

Lina and Amelia, with Gourry in tow between them, insisting that he was falling, soared up over the burning trees as Amelia cast a Diem Wing bubble around them. 

"There, Miss Lina!" Amelia pointed, spotting Zelgaddis and Mayaki. They were both staring at the destruction the Gaav Flare had done, Zel with a horrified look and Mayaki with a disturbing smirk. The bubble floated easily down to the ground and disappeared. Lina trotted over to Zelgaddis as Amelia tried to convince Gourry that they were on the ground again.

"There you guys are! What happened? What was that big explosion?"

Zel continued to stare mournfully, hatefully, at the fire. "Xellos," he said flatly.

Race cackled as he tore down the road. "I've done it! I've done it this time! I saw her fall! There's no way she could survive that! Race Quim has slain the wyvern! Hahahaha!!"

"Are you quite sure about that, Mr. Quim?" an entertained voice asked from overhead as someone sitting on a tree branch hailed him. Race stopped running and peered up at the silhouetted figure curiously.

"Who's there?"

"Really, if you're going to start something, you should at least stick around until things are finished. You've _almost_ killed Miss Sora three times now. In my book, that's strike three. You are out, Mr. Quim." Xellos hopped down from the tree.

Race took a cautious step backward, trying to catch his breath. "You're that troublesome Mazoku she travels with, aren't you?"

Xellos's violet eyes glimmered at him malevolently. "The little wyvern is very dear to me, you know. I don't appreciate your efforts to kill her." Race's hand dropped to the hilt of his sword. Xellos caught the motion out of the corner of his eye. "I wouldn't bother, if I were you. We both know that it would be futile since I am a monster."

Race growled. "What do you want from me, then? Assuming you wanted to kill me, you'd have done it by now."

Xellos gave him a lopsided grin. "Just wanted to offer some advice," he smirked.

"And what advice could that be?" Race asked cockily, putting his hands on his hips.

"That it is very bad luck to hurt a Mazoku's girlfriend."

Race nodded smugly. "I'll keep that in mind. Does this mean you aren't going to attack me, then?"

The Mazoku chuckled darkly. "I always give my enemies fair warning before I do," he said.

Race shrugged and strode past him as Xellos bowed from his tree branch sarcastically. The human let out a mental sigh of relief, keeping his outward composure, but inwardly thanking that gods that he had come out of it in one piece.

With a low laugh, Xellos began walking in the other direction, toward Mayaki and the rest. When he was about a hundred yards or so away from the man, he stopped and turned, aiming the red crystal at the end of his staff at Race. "Blast Bomb," he said quietly. A pinpoint-thin line of red energy surged out from the crystal, closing the distance between Xellos and Race in less than a second. Race screamed once before he was drowned out and hidden by the rapidfire burst of black and yellow explosions.

Xellos didn't have to look back to know that Race Quim was no more. In fact, with the power of that spell, anyone looking for the bandit leader would be hard-pressed to find so much as a trace of him in the destroyed surrounding wood or the large crater that had taken the place of the road in that spot. The demon priest chuckled, continuing to walk calmly away. "What a fool," he said to himself. "Terrible luck that. Just awful. Isn't my fault he couldn't recognize fair warning when it was given to him. How pathetic. Heh."

* * * * *

Every head in the group jerked around at the sound of the nearby explosion. Most of them had expressions of shock... all except Mayaki, who smiled wickedly. Inwardly, she cackled to herself. Death, destruction, murder, evil! Tonight she and Xellos would be dancing on that idiot Quim's grave!

Offhand, she wondered if Zelas would like her... if she really was evil enough. She _felt_ evil, but there was still some doubt in her mind about exactly how much evil there was in her, or could be. After all, she'd only killed half a dozen men and frightened a man she'd blinded. Most of it had been self-defense, at that. She wasn't really sure if that qualified at all. Still, she was soaking up negative energy like a starving woman... all the anger, hate, and pain she ran into. And there was...

...sadness. An overwhelming amount of woe and remorse, heartbrokenness. She could feel it pouring off Zelgaddis in rivers. She'd gotten under that stony skin of his and hurt him without even really knowing she had. *Ho-hum, more's the pity,* she thought drolly, letting him suffer this one out alone, and meanwhile absorbing his emotions. Tasty.

Xellos appeared, strolling casually down the road toward them. He seemed especially smug as he marched dutifully up to them. Lina jumped on him the minute he reached them. "What did you do, Xellos?" Her tone was anything but playful.

He chuckled lowly and spoke in an evil tone. "Race Quim won't be bothering us again anytime soon." His eyes, little more than slits, glimmered.

"What did you _do_?" Lina repeated with emphasis.

Xellos floated up into the air, reclining as easily as if he was in a chair, and put his hands behind his head. "I took care of it, of course."

Lina clenched her fists, growling at him. Behind her, Amelia and Gourry looked equally confused... which was either a great compliment to Gourry or a great discredit to Amelia. Zelgaddis had stood up and was walking back the way they'd come, mostly just to avoid the pair of Mazoku, but also to hide his feelings from the rest of the group. He felt bad enough without earning their sympathies as well. Heartbreak was a difficult emotion to choke down.

Mayaki, on the other hand, didn't seem to care a lick. Her lips curled into a twisted smile as her golden eyes glittered. She was a Mazoku, evil had been done, and all was well with the world. 

Meanwhile the little sorceress berated Xellos. "I don't believe you! You don't care about anything, do you? Not who you hurt or kill or what you destroy or anything!"

"Ordinarily, that would be the case, Lina," he smirked down at her. "But there is someone I _do_ care about, hard as that must be for you to believe."

Lina was floored. "What?!"

Gourry piped up. "Who?"

"That... is a secret," he quipped, floating even higher above their heads. Mayaki gazed at him with a sense of triumph. He met her eyes and grinned wider. "Come on, darling. I think it's about time we left."

Mayaki ran a couple of steps and sprang into the air, soaring up to Xellos's side. It had been hard to learn at first, but with a little practice, she had found it to be almost natural... she could get used to it after a while. She even did a spin on the way up, she was so excited. Everyone gasped, staring slack-jawed at her.

"Mayaki!" Lina breathed in shock.

"Miss Mayaki! How could you?" Amelia complained.

Mayaki laughed in a way that sent shivers down everyone's spine. "This? Oh, but it was so easy, being that I'm a Mazoku anyway. I just needed a little... encouragement from Xellos to live up to my full potential."

"Mayaki, I know you're not evil underneath. Come back down ant let Amelia do a de-possession spell on you!" Lina pleaded.

The wyvern girl looked at her fingernails boredly and leaned back on the air. "Terribly sorry, Miss Lina, but I've got more important things to do, cooking for you losers not being one of them.

"Mayaki," Gourry said, awed.

Amelia shrank back, looking ready to cry. Her lip quavered. "Miss Mayaki, this is all wrong! Why are you doing this? You're not evil!"

"And you know me so well, Princess Pest?"

The little justice crusader burst into tears. "I know I'd never forgive myself if I just let you go off with Mister Xellos because Mister Zelgaddis loves _you_!"

Something inside Mayaki pressed her not to say anything, but she ignored it and spat out what she had to say. "Amelia, you are a little fool, aren't you? Wanting something for Zelgaddis even though it ruins your own chance at him. How very quaint. And how very stupid of you."

Zelgaddis finally turned around. "Mayaki," he said softly.

Tears flowed freely down Amelia's cheeks. "I don't care if I don't get what I want, as long as Mister Zelgaddis is happy!"

Zelgaddis heard Amelia's words. If he hadn't been so focused on his love for Mayaki, they might have meant more. 

"Aww, isn't that noble? And sickening," she added. Beside her, Xellos nodded with approval. Amelia simply wept, not having anything else to say.

"Mayaki, stop this." Zel stared up at her, eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Oh, it's you, Zelgaddis! How nice of you to show up for my fare-thee-well party! I admit, you are the most fun to play with, darling." Zel clenched a fist and glared at her. "You really didn't know? For as close as you kept getting, I thought you almost understood!"

"You told me you would never betray your human nature..."

She laughed irritatingly. "I lied. Well, it may have been the truth at the time, but I've found another path to follow."

"Traitor..." he whispered, deeply hurt.

"Really, I am sorry," she said sarcastically while twiddling with one of her knives. "It's a pity things couldn't work out better for us. Oh, and you were right about one thing..." She turned her head and narrowed her eyes slyly at him. "I _am_ a Mazoku like Xellos."

Zel seemed rooted in place. Lina ran up to defend him. "Stop it, Mayaki! Just shut up! Haven't you hurt him enough?"

*Yes, Mayaki, stop,* her conscience begged. She forced it down by soaking up some of the pain she'd caused. "Oh, fine. Off to Wolfpack Island, then," she chirped, gliding down to look Zelgaddis in the face. "Good luck finding your cure, sweetheart." Then she zipped off before he could get a swing in at her.

Zel broke through his frozen shock and screamed with fury. "Elmekia Lance!" he cast, voice cracking halfway through. The spell shot away from his hand at her, but she easily hovered away from it, his aim suffering with his anger.

"Was that meant for me, Zelgaddis? I suppose that means our relationship is over." She quirked her eyes over to Xellos, who was patiently enjoying the torment she was dishing out. "I don't think we're welcome anymore, sweet."

"Yes, such a shame," he echoed with a grin. "Ah well. Off we go. Ta-ta, Lina!" Mayaki disappeared, followed a second later by her mentor.

"Grr.. Xellos!!" Lina shouted after them.

"Damn you!" Zelgaddis added. "Damn you both!" He collapsed to his knees in the road, staring mournfully after them. After a while, the reality that she wasn't coming back sunk in, and he dropped his eyes.

Amelia watched him silently holding everything in. Her brow furrowed sympathetically. "Mister Zelgaddis..." she started, stepping toward him, but there was an arm in her way.

"Hold it, Amelia," Lina scolded softly. "I think Zel needs some time alone right now."

"Oh," she mumbled in response, letting the sorceress all but push her along, leaving the chimaera to himself. "Mister Zelgaddis..." she whispered over her shoulder at him.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 

BTW: This is one of the more poignant scenes... I hope you enjoyed seeing Xellos smashed in the face as much as I did. ;)


	19. Chapter 18: Terms of Service

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 18: Terms of Service

Amelia sat by herself, brooding. Every now and then she looked over at Zelgaddis, who had refused to say so much as a word since Mayaki and Xellos had disappeared. She had wanted Mayaki to go away so badly, even though she'd known it was wrong... Amelia wanted Zelgaddis all to herself. Well, she'd gotten her wish, and Zel was miserable. She hadn't wanted him to be unhappy-that wasn't how things were supposed to be! And since Zel wasn't happy, she couldn't be either.

Mayaki was the missing piece of the puzzle, and at the same time, a barrier to what Amelia was after.

She tried rationalizing things. *I'm not happy because Mister Zelgaddis isn't happy. Mister Zelgaddis isn't happy because Miss Mayaki isn't here. Miss Mayaki isn't here because Mister Xellos took her to Wolfpack Island. So if I want to be happy...*

"I've got to go to Wolfpack Island," she muttered aloud.

*But if I go to Wolfpack Island to rescue Miss Mayaki from Mister Xellos, she'll come back. And if she comes back, Mister Zelgaddis will be happy again. And if he's happy because she's back...*

"...It means he loves her."

*And if he loves her...*

"...then he doesn't love me."

*...and I'll be miserable. But if I don't bring her back, Mister Zelgaddis will still be miserable, and I'll be miserable if he's miserable...*

*...and I want Mister Zelgaddis to be happy.*

*I'll be miserable either way,* she concluded. "So I have to bring Miss Mayaki back. After all, it's the right thing to do." She began gathering her things up. She cast a look at the mournful chimaera and blinked back tears. "Poor Mister Zelgaddis..." she whispered. She could be content so long as he was, and that would be enough, even if she wasn't the one in his favor. She'd never forgive herself if she didn't go. Daddy would be proud of her.

She strode away with her jaw set and determination heavy upon her shoulders.

Lina looked up as she trooped by. "Hey, Amelia! Where ya goin'?"

"I'm going to get Miss Mayaki back!" she announced.

The sorceress blinked. "Hey, hold it, wait a minute! You're not going on your own! Prince Phil would have my head if anything happened to you!" Lina scrambled to her feet. "Besides, she's my friend too. I'm not just gonna let that creep Xellos hijack her from us!"

Amelia met her eyes and nodded.

"Come on, Gourry," the little redhead commanded. The swordsman looked up confusedly from his spot on the grass.

"We're leaving already?"

"Yeah, Gourry. We don't exactly have a lot of time to spare here."

Baffled as ever, he stood up obediently and picked up his sword. "Where exactly are we going, Lina?"

"Right where Mayaki said they were going: Wolfpack Island. If she's not all Mazoku, there might be a way to bring her back."

"But... what if she is all Mazoku?" he asked. "Will we have to fight her?"

Lina stopped walking. "Er, let's not think about that right now," she laughed nervously. She yelled back over her shoulder. "Hey, Zel! Come on! We're leaving!"

Zelgaddis sat beside the road like a stone lump, not so much as acknowledging Lina's shout to him.

"Zel! What are you, deaf? We're going to get Mayaki!"

No reaction.

"Well, fine, then! Be that way! We'll just go without you, then!" Lina humphed. She hated being ignored, even if Zel did have a good reason for ignoring the whole world at the moment. She stomped off down the road, Gourry and Amelia following her. After a few minutes, she stopped in her tracks. "Does...anyone know...how to get to Wolfpack Island?"

"No, Miss Lina."

"We were just following you."

The sorceress let out a long, deep sigh, drooped, and trudged back the way they'd just come. "Zel still has the map. Why me?"

Zelgaddis hadn't moved an inch when they got back. Lina approached him while Amelia dug the maps out from the packhorse's load. "We're back! Didja miss us, Zel?" After a moment of silence, the sorceress sighed again. *Ohh.. he's all depressed again...* she groaned mentally. "Hey! Answer me when I talk to you, Zel!" she shouted at him, kicking him over with one foot.

"Knock it off," he finally said, sulkily righting himself.

"You coming, or what?"

"No."

Lina brightened, marching down the road happily. "That's the spirit, Zel! Let's go! - huh? No?" she gaped, stumbling.

"Go on without me," the response came.

Lina growled. "Look, buddy, it's your girlfriend we're going to rescue here..."

That got a reaction. "She's not my girlfriend!" he snarled at her violently, balling his fists and clenching his eyes shut. The silence that followed was much too deep.

In an attempt to fill the conversational void, Amelia called out, "Miss Lina, I got the map! Where are we at?"

Lina shook her head at Zel's stubbornness and strolled over to the others. "How should I know?"

Amelia blinked. "Well, in that case, which way is north?"

"Uhhhhh..." came the answer.

"I think that's west," Gourry put in.

"Who asked your opinion?!"

Zel watched them bicker over the map and all four points of the compass and almost laughed at how ridiculously lost they all were. He sighed and shook his head, trudging over to them and snatching the somewhat mangled map away from them. "Give me that! You guys are really pathetic, you know that?"

"Oh, so you wanna come along now, huh, Zel?" Lina teased.

"Only because you all couldn't find your way to Wolfpack Island if you were standing on it."

Amelia smiled brightly. The journey wouldn't be the same without Zelgaddis.

"Great!" Lina cheered. "Let's go, then!" She marched down the road again, humming triumphantly. Zel tugged her back by the cape. 

"For starters, Wolfpack Island is to the south," he groaned at her.

"But... but... we just CAME from that way! You mean we have to go BACK?!"

Zelgaddis glared at her. "You can keep heading north if you want, but you won't get to Wolfpack Island that way."

"Ohhhh..." Lina moaned.

* * * * *

Mayaki became increasingly nervous as she and Xellos approached the island, soaring along the Astral Plane. Her thoughts mostly revolved around Greater Beast Zelas. Would she think Mayaki was evil enough, even though Mayaki wasn't certain herself? What if she didn't? What if she DID? What if...

"Something the matter, little bird?" Xellos asked, gliding closer to her. 

Mayaki shook herself out of her thoughts. "Oh, just a little anxious, I guess."

"I told you before," he said, gently stroking her hair behind her ear. "I'll take care of it. You haven't a thing to worry about."

"Hope you're right..." she muttered to herself. "...or I'm history."

The island rose up out of the ocean beneath them, so quickly that Mayaki barely saw the shore at all as it whizzed past. It wasn't a large island, by any means. Zelas preferred it that way; it was virtually impossible to stumble onto it through chance alone, and only slightly less difficult to find it if one was looking for it. Of course, Zelas had accounted for any contingency of unwanted visitors. Mayaki peered down at the huge fleet of wolves roaming the forest below them. She wondered how such a small area could support so many carnivores, since there didn't appear to be any large prey roaming about. Aside of the none-too-frequent lost sailor for a meal, she didn't imagine there was near enough meat to go around.

...unless they ate each other. Constantly having to fend off their own pack would make all the wolves especially vicious.

*Or Zelas-_MASTER_ Zelas, Mayaki-might keep them fed. They certainly are thin, though... their ribs are showing. Look at that one! Skin and bones! If she feeds them, it must not be enough...*

A high-pitched yelp made Mayaki turn her head to see the pack tearing apart an older, weaker member to pieces-a sacrifice made for the greater good. Survival took priority over family here, even if it meant cannibalism.

A thought suddenly dawned on her. *If Master Zelas doesn't like me... I'll be-*

"Ah, it's nice to be home," Xellos interrupted her mind. "I admit, it's rather a long way off, even through the Astral Plane."

"That was long?"

Xellos thought. "I suppose it's quite fast for you, this being your first time and all," he smirked, "but after a while, you'll see... it's just another way to get where you're going. And dull, at that." Mayaki was more focussed on the wolves shredding their comrade and fighting over the scraps, looking back over her shoulder at them. "Ah. Master's little pets," he quipped, rather unenthusiastically.

"They're her pets?"

Xellos shrugged. "Beastmaster Zelas has a soft spot for wolves." He glanced at the pack rather indifferently. "Not that I blame her. I'm really more of a cat person myself, but it's not a good idea to argue these things with one's master."

"Noted," Mayaki nodded with a slight shudder.

The pair of them circled the walls and inner courtyard of the palace. Mayaki touched down lightly on one toe as they floated down for a landing. Xellos caught her around the waist and gave her a little peck on the cheek. "Come along, Miss Sora. Your new master awaits."

Mayaki hesitated as if she was about to say something, but obediently followed Xellos into the depths of the castle.

In traditional fashion, most of the castle was dark, what lighting there was from dimly burning torches that cast flickering shadows, hardly enough to see by if you didn't have a Mazoku's night-time vision. The halls seemed especially designed to make you feel watched by unseen eyes.

Mayaki wondered why they were coming this way instead of teleporting straight to Zelas's throne room. And then it occurred to her that it would be terrible manners, and having bad manners around someone with the kind of power Beastmaster Zelas had-well, the outcome wouldn't be good, she imagined.

She didn't really take notice of where Xellos was leading her until suddenly there was a huge door towering before her. Xellos looked a little sheepish and knocked.

"Huizzit?" a woman's voice slurred drunkenly from the other side.

Xellos flinched. "Oh no... not again..." he muttered nervously.

"Huzzere? C'mon'n schpeak up 'fore I get irrirr... irrertatered..." the door was flung open unnaturally fast. Zelas had snapped it open with a thought, drunk though she was.

Xellos finally spoke up. "It's me, Beastmaster," he manages to stammer out, tapping his fingers together anxiously.

Zelas lounged at an angle in her throne, one leg thrown over the arm and most of her body hanging off the other side. Her usually straight diamond circlet was fallen down into her face, the gem partially obscuring her right eye, though she didn't seem to mind particularly.

"Oh, 's just you, Xellosh.." the Mazoku slurred. "Whaddya want?"

Xellos gulped and smiled accommodatingly. "I've brought the wyvern girl, Master."

"Ah, you're a good boy, Xelly. Fry'er up fer dinner..."

Mayaki, peeking out from behind Xellos, squeaked slightly and panicked.

"Er... no, Master... Mayaki wishes to serve you. As your minion. Remember? I've turned her fully evil now. See?" He stepped aside and indicated the startled girl.

Mayaki blushed slightly as Zelas's full attention focused on her. She executed a quick curtsey, deferring to the Mazoku lord. "An honor to meet you, Beastmaster," she said softly.

Zelas stared at her for an uncomfortably long time. Eventually she pushed her platinum blonde hair out of her eyes and tipped her circlet back into place. "You're what my Xelly has been going on about?" she asked. Mayaki, with her head bowed, shot a glance at him and stuttered, not knowing what to answer, but apparently Zelas wasn't expecting one and went on. "Ya don't look so evil ta me..."

Mayaki blushed deeper, her temper rising to meet the challenge. She forced it back, remaining calm. "I am, Beastmaster... please, give me a chance to prove myself!"

Zelas held her chin in her hand, leaning against her throne pensively. To Mayaki, the moment that passed had taken years, and the thought weighed on her, *She doesn't like me...*

Xellos, plagued with anxiety himself, added quickly, "Yes, Master! Give her a chance... some sort of test! I know you'll like her. Mayaki, show our Master your wyvern form."

Mayaki nodded and quickly transformed, the green mist of magic spiraling around her body. "Raaack," she said with a reptilian bow to Zelas.

Zelas continued to stare, rather unimpressed. Each moment, Mayaki became more and more fearful as the powerful Mazoku scrutinized her. At long last, she gave in. "All right, girl, you have a chance. I have a misssh... a miss... something for you ta do fer me. Sucsheed, and I'll keep you 'round as my minion, like Xellos here. Fail, well, you don't want to fail, get me?"

"I understand, Master Zelas," Mayaki answered, transforming back.

The drunken woman nodded blearily. "This group you and Xelly 've been traveling with. Mina Inverts..."

"Lina Inverse, Beastmaster,"

" 's ezzacly what I jusht said! Lina Inverse Beashtmashter." The demon blinked to herself. "Ye never told me she had th' same last name as me, Xelly. We might be related! Related!" she cackled. "Ha ha!" Xellos was about to correct her when she went on. "Anyway, I'm using her to kill off the other two of Shabby-nigdo's chosen five. She's already taken out Maryuo Gaav and Phibrizzo, but I still need her to kill Dynast and Deep Sea for me. Now... 'bout this group. Mina 'r whateverrernamiz is doing fine, but I want her to speed it up a little, and these other idiots are slowing her down."

"Zelgaddis, Gourry, and Amelia," Mayaki nodded.

"Right, sure," Zelas waved her off. "Whoever they are, I don't want 'em slowing my girl down anymore. So your job, little wyvern Mayaki..." She paused, waiting for Mayaki to finish for her.

Mayaki blinked indifferently. "You want me to kill them."

Zelas smiled. "Atta girl," she praised. Outside, the wolves began howling.

A malicious grin spread over Mayaki's face. "Gladly," she said with a chuckle.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	20. Chapter 19: Mazoku in the Making

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo! 

Chapter 19: Mazoku in the Making

The wind rustled peacefully over the little meadow, making the taller blades of grass dance and sway gently. The sun shone merrily from above. A squirrel made its way down a tree trunk and warily skittered its way into the field to find some morsel of food. Birds chirped.

And then a large bubble shot through the clearing, causing the birds to fly off and the squirrel to panic and scramble for cover in several directions all at once. The bubble was gone almost as soon as it had appeared, veering around trees and flying out of sight. The squirrel looked curiously after it, wondering what in the world had just happened before the memory of it dropped out of its tiny brain. Squirrels, along with being panicky, have very short attention spans.

A ways down the road, the bubble slowed, eventually coming to a stop and dropping its four occupants in the dust.

"Whoa, whoa, Amelia, why're we stopping?"

Amelia dropped to her knees, the Diem Wing spell having sapped her energy. "I'm sorry, Miss Lina," she panted, "I just can't keep the spell up any longer... I'm exhausted!"

"What? Oh, come on..."

Amelia gave her an apologetic glance, completely burnt out. She looked up as a stone hand rested on her shoulder. "I'll take over, Amelia. Get some rest."

She gazed up at him, her mouth in a surprised o. "Mister Zelgaddis... Thank you," she said meekly.

"Hm," he grunted and smiled down at her. She couldn't help noticing that the smile was bigger than the usual flat hint of a grin that he had always given her before.

"Diem Wing," he commanded. The bubble reformed and slowly raised them all up above the trees, then, picking up speed gradually at first, it shot off again with renewed power.

* * * * *

A knock in the middle of the night is always enough to send you immediately to your feet, especially if the person knocked like Lina Inverse and you weren't sleeping very, very deeply. 

"Coming, coming!" Emma Debarro's voice rang as she slipped a robe on over her nightclothes and hurried down the stairs. "Can't believe it'd be all that urgent at this time of the night... Oooh, stop your pounding, already! I'm coming!"

Mrs. Debarro opened the door to the four travelers, all of whom looked rather desperate. "Ah, it's the lot of you again!" she said cheerily. "Come in, come in. Where's that darling Mayaki at?"

"Sorry to wake you, Emma, but it's an emergency," Lina apologized quickly. "Is Alemo around?"

"Why, no. He's out searching for his father again. Said he was going east again, toward Miss Mayaki's home."

"Dangit. He picked a hell of a time to get wanderlust," the sorceress complained.

"What's happened to Mayaki?" Emma demanded. "And that other friend of yours, the one with the purple hair... Alemo told me he didn't trust 'im." She looked from face to face around the circle. Gourry's look was blank as ever, Amelia's was upset, though she was fighting not to look it, Zelgaddis was trying his hardest to hold back his rage, and Lina's look was the slightest bit guilty. "He's took her, hasn't he? The one my Alemo said was of the Evil Race," she finally deduced. 

Zelgaddis slowly nodded. "And we're going to need Alemo's help to get her back, if we even can."

* * * * *

Morning came quickly, and as soon as Lina had paid a messenger to find the Wyvern Killer, they were off again.

"Best of luck to you, Miss Lina. Bring her back safe and sound."

Lina nodded. "Thanks again for putting us up, Emma."

The aging woman smiled. "Never you mind that, you're always welcome 'ere. Godspeed."

* * * * *

Mayaki soared over the land, trying to spot the bunch of travelers. Xellos had tried to train her to find certain souls from the Astral Plane, but for some reason, most probably her conscience, she was no good at finding people. It was much nicer to use her wings anyway, she thought. Floating everywhere was a little tedious.

She recalled Zelas's sending her out. She was still frightened of the Mazoku woman, and with good reason at that. "I give you my power, little wyvern Mayaki. Put it to good use in getting rid of these meddlers, and I'll give it to you to keep."

"As you wish, Master," she had replied, and looked on in awe as the monster's platinum hair blew out behind her. She extended a hand at Mayaki, and when she touched her, a strong shock ran through her body-stronger than one of Lina's Mono Bolts-so painfully that Mayaki had to grit her teeth against the pain of receiving the Beastmaster's power. Zelas had laughed at her pain... but then, causing pain was a Mazoku's prerogative. 

Mayaki had looked up afterward and smiled wickedly. "Thank you, Master Zelas."

So now, all that was left was to find Lina and the others. Lina was to be kept alive, the rest destroyed. Simple as that, really. Except she didn't feel nearly as wicked now. Images of her friends played by in her mind... Lina, Amelia, Gourry....

....Zelgaddis....

She shook herself out of it. This mission was something that she _needed_ to do. I mean, after all, she was a monster now. What was she going to do, spend her time baking cookies for the rest of her life?

*Want to bake something...* her mind insisted. It was always on her mind anymore. Ever since she was little, it had eased her to nerves to cook. She remembered back to a time when she and Talia had baked together... marvelous dishes that astounded the eye and tongue of travelers who had stopped by for the night....

__

"Like this... You mustn't stir fast, or too much air will get whipped into the batter, you see? Now you, Mayaki... There, that's just perfect..."

And she remembered another night when she'd stormed into the kitchen, mad with grief and rage... her mother had been sick for weeks with the crimson fever before it had finally taken her, though she seemed to be recovering just before the end came. Mayaki had been at her bedside at the time. "Mother, don't go!" she'd begged. "Please, don't!"

"My darling little Mayaki," Talia said with her dying breath, running her hand through Mayaki's burgundy curls as her spirit left her body for the pull of the afterworld. "Mother!" Mayaki had screamed, no more than thirteen years old at the time. "No, it's not fair!" She didn't even realize where she was going as she ran out of the room, and hardly noticed bumping into Ari and all but knocking her down as she and her father had come to see what was the matter. Somehow, she found herself in the kitchen when the tears cleared out of her eyes. Her gaze stopped on so many of Talia's things, pots and pans, knives, her spotless apron, hanging beside Mayaki's smaller one...

*Have to cook... need to cook* her mind had told her then. It seemed like Talia was in the kitchen with her, just as she'd always been, making sure he daughter didn't add too much parsley to this or oregano to that, cleaning a pan or putting something in the oven.

__

"There, that's just perfect. Now we pour the batter into the pan you helped me flour earlier, and put it in the oven, and soon we'll have a nice, soft cake for you to decorate!"

"Hooray!" her own young laughter echoed.

Ariella stood at the door, watching her friend frantically flit from one place to another, stirring, stewing, baking, roasting, frying. Ari looked up to her father. "Papa, when is she going to stop? She's been cooking for three days! And I know those no good rotters we sent the dishes to won't give them back..."

Gavin set a gentle hand on Ari's petite shoulder. "Let her be, Ari. This is something that Mayaki has to do for herself."

*Oh, Mother...* the wyvern thought as she drifted aimlessly over the forest and hills.

*Have to cook something...right now!* She plummeted out of the sky like a dart onto an unsuspecting deer that never had a chance against her, its back broken as she slammed it to the ground under her claws. Shifting back and forth from her wyvern form to her human one rapidly, Mayaki stacked a load of firewood, breathed flame on it until it caught, then used one of her daggers to skin the carcass. With one of her hindclaws, she tore the deer apart, then skewered it on bark-stripped branches, carefully setting them to roast around the fire. Still feeling inadequate without any spices to season it with, she pulled up a few handfuls of fragrant grass and added them to the embers to smoke the meat. It just wasn't right... venison needed salt and at least three kinds of finely ground pepper, and a hint of curry and...

She kicked over one of the poles with a shout and a snarl and watched the fresh meat sizzle, then char on the hot embers, finally being consumed in the flames with the stench of burning flesh hanging in the air.

Mayaki shook her head and sat down next to her fire. She rested her head against her fist and sobbed, then growled at herself for it.

She didn't sleep... monsters didn't need sleep. Instead she stayed awake and wondered if there wasn't still a shred of humanity left in her.

Morning was a long time in coming.

* * * * *

The four travelers had sped along the road nearly the full day, high above the heads of merchants who looked up at them in amazement as they shot past. Amelia had handled the spell in the morning, but was completely exhausted by lunchtime. Lina had tried her power after a break, but even with all her power-enhancing talismans, her magic petered out after a little more than half an hour. From there on out, Zelgaddis had taken over with a Ray Wing, but he wouldn't be able to continue much longer. His power was tapped out as well. He was getting tired, weak, but each time he felt like stopping, he would egg himself on. "Just a little farther... I can make it a little farther..."

The sun's setting turned the sky flame orange. Zel finally realized that to push himself any further could be dangerous for them all. If he lost the spell at this speed and this altitude... well, best not to think about it and quit while he was ahead. He guided the bubble down to the grass of a field that looked like it would make a suitable campsite.

Slowly, the others got to their feet to help make camp and scrape something together for dinner. Zelgaddis stood where he'd landed for a long while, partially from exhaustion, partially because he was lost in deep thought.... Until...

"Mister Zelgaddis?"

He looked down into the bright blue eyes before him. "Amelia..." he said, almost with wonder.

"Dinner's almost ready. Are you all right?"

Yes, he was fine, considering that he'd been unfairly transformed into a chimaera, trapped in a body of stone for which he'd been ridiculed and thought of as a monster, searching in vain for a cure for the past five years or more, the woman he'd fallen in love with was a wyvern and had just painfully left him for a Mazoku that Zel absolutely hated. Considering all that, he was pretty damn good.

He'd wanted to say that. It certainly would have been easier than holding it all inside. But it wasn't Amelia's fault that any of this had happened to him. It would be unfair to snap at her just for being concerned about him.

*And I should be used to it by now,* he thought to himself. *She only checks on me constantly anyway.*

"I'm fine, Amelia," he lied quietly.

She wasn't going to pry; he could sense that much. He also knew, though, that she wasn't going to leave it at that and run along. Traveling with her off and on for three years, they'd gotten to know each other pretty well.

She waited for him to begin walking and pulled up beside him, falling into his stride. "Are you worried about Miss Mayaki?"

He peered down into her eyes again. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" he said gently. "One does tend to worry when their friend turns into a Mazoku and disappears right before their eyes..."

"Yeah. I guess I see your point," Amelia mumbled. "I am too..."

Again, Zel looked shocked. "I thought you two were still at each other's throats."

Amelia tittered nervously as she sat down beside the fire and crossed her legs. "Oh, no! It's not like we were enemies or I'd be fighting her! Miss Mayaki is on the side of Justice! ...she _was_ anyway." The little princess paused pensively as Zelgaddis cast a small fireball into the stack of kindling Lina and Gourry had piled up. He took two of the sandwiches Gourry offered them and handed one to Amelia. She continued staring into the fire as the flames engulfed the wood, burning merrily with the rushing sound of hot air. "Rivals, maybe," she added quietly. She didn't think Zelgaddis could hear her, and so didn't notice the curious, quirked look he gave her.

High above them, a dark shadow circled, drawn by the light and smell of their fire.

Mayaki crashed into the campsite, all but landing in the fire. It looked as if the wyvern didn't mind the heat of it at all. A second later she stepped through it and transformed back to her human shape. "Hello, everyone," she said tauntingly. "Did you miss me?"

In a panicked flurry, everyone was on their feet. "Mayaki!" Lina yelped.

"Mayaki! What're you doing?" Zel demanded.

The girl laughed wickedly in response. "Well now, Zelgaddis, I could tell you that, but Master Zelas might be awfully annoyed at me for spilling her little secret to you. Anyway, it won't matter in a few minutes, since I've been sent to kill you all." She snorted with amusement. "Such a shame I can't play with you any longer."

"Mayaki, don't do this," Gourry said softly, unsheathing his sword.

She grinned, looking at him with the corner of her eye and chuckled. Somehow, as a Mazoku, everything was extremely entertaining, though no one else seemed to get the joke. In a swift motion, she reverted to her wyvern form and snapped her jaws, trying to catch the swordsman between them inadvertently. Gourry was no fool when it came to fighting monster though-wyverns included-and deftly leaped aside, blocking her with the flat of his sword and whacking her under the chin with the hilt.

"Don't hurt her, Mister Gourry! We have to get Miss Mayaki back to normal!" Amelia cried anxiously at him.

"I'm trying not to!" he yelled back. "But she doesn't seem to have any problems with-whoa!" He jumped over her tail. "-hurting me!"

"Zel, Amelia! Try to subdue her with an Elmekia Lance!" Lina called to them. "I'll try to distract her!" Waving her slim sword in Mayaki's face, the sorceress captured Mayaki's attention. 

"You forget I'm not a dumb monster like the ones you usually fight, Lina. And you're not the one I'm after," Mayaki said, knowing full well that she couldn't be understood.

"Aaaack-aaack-aaack yourself..." Lina growled at her, looking shocked and angered when Mayaki turned away from her. "Hey! Where're you going?! Dammit, Mayaki, stop ignoring me!" 

Instead, the wyvern turned, glaring dangerously at Zelgaddis and Amelia. 

"Haaaa!" Gourry yelled, lunging at her. Mayaki summoned some of Zelas's magic and caught the swordsman midair. He blinked and said, "Huh?" as he was turned upside down and thrown into the distance for a mercilessly hard landing.

"Elmekia Lance!" Amelia cast, unleashing the spell at Mayaki. It was a direct hit, but Mayaki barely seemed to notice more than a pinprick. The girl, she thought, would barely be two bites. Amelia shrieked in fear as the gaping jaws flew at her... but the potential painful strike was replaced by the sound of tooth hitting stone.

Mayaki was knocked back by her own momentum as her jaw bounced off Zelgaddis's stone arm. The impact jarred her brain slightly and she shook her head to clear out the specks of light dancing in her vision. She snarled menacingly at the chimaera as he held up his sword defensively in front of him. 

"No," Zel told her quietly. For some reason, she stopped.

*What're you waiting for?! Kill him!* her Mazoku side screeched.

*But...* some other part of her argued.

Zelgaddis held her full attention. The field was silent, aside from the popping fire. "Mayaki," he pleaded, "don't do this... we're your friends. I know the real you is in there somewhere, deep down, and that you're not evil. You're not like them."

"Eeecck," the creature responded softly. Her expression saddened somewhat, Zelgaddis thought.

"Mayaki, if you ever loved me, then please, don't do this. Don't let it happen."

*Kill them NOW!*

*I _can't!*_ she wailed inwardly. She stared into the depths of Zelgaddis's eyes helplessly and 

vanished to the Astral Plane.

Everyone blinked and exchanged glances. Zel let his sword drop to his side, no longer in a fighting stance.

Lina finally broke the silence. "Is she gone?"

Zel nodded. "I don't think she'll be back again... at least, not tonight." Gourry wandered up, rubbing a rather large bump that was forming on his head. Zel moved to put his sword back in its scabbard when another shape crashed down next to the fire. Everyone jumped, unsheathing swords and summoning spells to the ready. A second later, the figure transformed into a human.

"Ah, I finally caught up with you all! Where's my sister?" Alemo asked with concern.

The group breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"You just missed her," Lina snarled at him, them proceeded to beat on him for scaring them to death.

* * * * *

Mayaki huddled in the roots of a large tree, shaken to her very core by the calm, pleading words Zelgaddis had faced her with. "Oh, Zel, I'm so sorry.. What'll I do? What'll I _do?_" she whimpered. There was no way she could return to the castle without completing her mission for Zelas, but she couldn't find it in herself to kill her friends-the only friends she had except for Ari-either.

A pair of dark boots suddenly appeared and landed beside her. She meekly looked up at their wearer. "So here's where you've gotten to!"

"Xellos!" she wept and threw her arms around one of his legs.

"Master was a bit... concerned when you didn't return immediately," he told her. He shrugged a little. "Er...and... I was too."

"Xellos!" she repeated panickly. Somehow she just couldn't get anything else out.

He bent down and stroked her cheek. "It's all right, little bird. The first time's always a little rough. You'll get over it." He carefully slid one arm under her legs and the other around her back, picking her up as if she was feather-light. "Come along... Master wants to have a word."

Mayaki squirmed, trying to get loose from him. "But Xellos..."

"Hush now, sweet Mayaki. Everything will be all right," he smirked, taking her to the one place she had no intention of going back to.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	21. Chapter 20: You Spin Me Right 'Round

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 20: You Spin Me Right Round

"Alemo! Can't you go any faster?!" Lina shouted over the rush of wind in their ears. The four travelers, lined up along the wyvern's back as if they were riding a very long horse, were jarred up and down as Alemo beat his wings, speeding across the Demon Sea as fast as he could manage to go. Already, the shore was only a happy memory and the only thing to be seen for miles around were enormous waves, crashing against one another and causing huge sprays of saltwater to shoot up at them. They were all rather damp, and Alemo's scale-plating had a thin sheet of crusted salt on it. Lina thanked the gods that they hadn't hired a boat like they'd originally planned... it would certainly see the bottom of the sea if they had.

Lightning crashed down from the storm clouds surrounding them. Alemo squawked and dodged sharply to the left, causing his four human passengers to yell in panic as they barely kept their seats. The wind buffeted them from all sides. Amelia shrieked as she was almost blown from the wyvern's back, but Zelgaddis grabbed her and hauled her back upright. 

"Thank you!" she shouted bashfully.

"Don't mention it!" he yelled back. He fished his compass out of a pocket and glanced at it, hoping they were still heading the right way. Getting lost in a storm in the middle of an ocean known as the Demon Sea was not high on his list of things to do in life.

Lina, sitting furthest up on the wyvern's neck, leaned forward. "You doing okay, Alemo?"

"Aaaeck..." the rough reply came. She didn't understand it, of course, but at least he was responding. If he hadn't, she would have been worried. Alemo had been determined to get to Mayaki from the instant he had heard the news of her conversion. *Damn that demon,* he thought. *Knew he was no good for her... if he's hurt her I'll...*

He was interrupted as an especially strong gust caught him off guard and flipped him over backward several times. Just as he thought he might recover, his passengers frightened and clinging for dear life but all still aboard, a microburst slammed into him from above and knocked him into the sea, scattering the group all around.

Gourry was the first to surface, kicking his way up, only to be hit square on by a wave. He spluttered after it had passed, then looked around him. "Lina! Where are you?"

A moment later, the little sorceress came up, gasping for air. "Cold!" she screamed.

Alemo was next to be seen, kicking and floundering ineffectually with his wings. He managed to revert to human shape and tread water, but even so, he was having a hard time keeping his head up.

"Where's Zel and Amelia?" Lina shouted over the roar of the sea and the still rising wind.

The three of them peered around, being pummeled by wave after wave as they searched frantically for their friends.

* * * * *

Amelia broke the surface and looked around in panic. "Where is everybody?" she called. "Miss Lina? Mister Alemo? Mister Zelgaddis?" A garbled shout answered her, and she swam toward the source. "Mister Zelgaddis!"

"Amelia! He-glrp..." Zel yelped as a wave washed into his mouth. "Sinking!"

"Aaa!" she squeaked, grabbing onto him and trying to pull him to the surface, but with his stone body, it was all but impossible. She remembered tossing stones into the fountains back in Seyruun: they certainly didn't float. "Help!" she shouted, her voice weak against the howling winds of the storm. "Somebody please help us!" She pulled again on Zelgaddis's arm as his face disappeared beneath the water. Kicking with all her might, she brought him back up.

"Let me go, Amelia!" he yelled at her.

"No, Mister Zelgaddis! You'll drown!"

"We'll _both_ drown if you don't let go of me! Save yourself!"

"No, I won't!" she screamed at him. She suddenly paused and looked around. "Huh?" For a second, she caught a glimpse of Lina's orange hair. She was quite far off, but yes, Amelia had seen her clearly... there weren't hardly any waves between them, just a big dishlike swirl of water. "Miss Lina! Mister Gourry!" she called, and caught the barest hint of their voices as they called back. "What??" she yelled.

Zelgaddis, kicking himself to the surface with every ounce of strength, realized what was happening before she did. "Oh damn.. swim, Amelia! Swim!" He pushed her away, urging her away from the slight inward tilt the water was beginning to form.

"Mister Zelgaddis!" she protested.

"Swim, or you'll be sucked in!" he screamed at her, realizing how steep the sides had suddenly gotten. Somewhere above him, from what seconds ago had been next to him, Amelia shrieked, being swept rapidly along the edge of the whirlpool. "Amelia!" he yelled, watching her head disappear under the water. A few yards beneath him, Lina swirled past, letting out a garbled scream, then Alemo, a few seconds later.

Looking up, he realized how dark it was in the funnel, or rather, how far down in it they were. The walls were getting close together, and the five of them spiraled around faster and faster. *Dear gods... we're all going to die...* he thought.

Across from him, on the other side of the funnel, Amelia's head popped out from under the water and she gasped and coughed. Zel breathed a thankful sigh of relief even as he was pulled under himself.

He tried to drag himself to the surface again, but it was useless.. the current pulling him under was stronger than even his demon strength could overcome. Salt water stung his eyes as he opened them underwater, seeing nothing but the endless swirls of dark water. His lungs ached for air. His limbs felt unresponsive as once again her tried hauling himself toward the surface... except, which direction was it?

*I'm going to drown...* 

* * * * *

...and then suddenly he landed on a very hard marble floor. Zel picked himself up confusedly and discovered that despite being out of the whirlpool, the world was still going around and around. He paused and waited to adjust to the new, still conditions. To his relief the others were in the same condition-slightly bruised and soaking wet, but alive-and in the same large, marble-tiled room. They all had equally puzzled looks as to how they were suddenly out of danger. 

"Where are we?" Amelia asked, looking around.

Alemo snorted. "I don't care where we are so long as it's out of that whirlpool. It's a convenient-enough miracle for me."

They seemed to be in a very long hall, almost completely devoid of furniture, save a sea-green glass throne at the far end. A small woman with metallic-silver hair was seated in it, though when she spotted them, she got up and scurried toward them. Her face was young-looking, Zel noted, though the silver hair made her appear roughly ten years older. "Ah, guests!" she said cheerfully. "How extraordinary! Do come in! Come in! It's so seldom that I have company anymore! Welcome, welcome!" The strange woman danced merrily around them with excitement.

"Er... not to sound rude, ma'am, but who are you, and could you tell us where we are?" Lina asked as the woman skipped around her.

"Of course! We're in my palace, you silly! And my name's Dolphin, though some people prefer to call me Deep Sea or Queen Deep Sea..." she drifted thoughtfully. "I don't think anyone's ever called me Queen Dolphin, come to think of it. Though you can, if you like. Or Pharaoh Dolphin. I think someone called me that once. Maybe it was me.. hee!"

"Deep-Sea Dolphin?" Lina blinked.

"Someone we should know?" Gourry checked with her softly.

Lina nodded. "She's one of Shabranigdo's chosen five."

"Oh," Gourry whispered, understanding. "Who's he?"

The sorceress sighed. "I should've known you wouldn't remember who he was..."

"This woman is insane," Alemo said in a low tone.

"Not only that, she's really wacky..." Amelia put in.

Deep Sea went on babbling merrily to herself. "...or Tsarina Deep Sea. I rather like that one. Tsarina Deep Sea has a nice rhyme to it, don't you think? Tsarina Dolphin just doesn't have the same ring..."

Alemo risked interrupting her; otherwise she might have gone on all day and night. "Miss Dolphin, er...Deep Sea... did you bring us here?"

"Oh, yes! Isn't it marvelous what you can pick up with a whirlpool? One time, I brought down an entire fleet of trading ships!"

"Yes, lovely. I don't suppose you could send us back up to the surface again, could you? You see, my sister...half-sister, really..."

"Oh, no, no, no... can't do that. You've just arrived, after all!" She added in slightly darker tones, "I absolutely insist that you stay."

* * * * *

Mayaki shuddered as Xellos set her down outside of the enormous throne room doors. He knocked and Zelas, with a much more sober voice than before, called back in a demanding way, "Enter."

Xellos pushed easily on one of the doors, though it was huge and probably weighed half a ton or more-but, when one has the strength to accomplish such feats, the Mazoku philosophy seemed to be, flaunt your power at every occasion. 

"No... Xellos!" Mayaki hissed as he pulled her in by her wrist. "Xellos, wait! You don't understand!"

Zelas looked up interestedly from her chair as Xellos continued to tow the struggling girl along behind him. "Well, the little wyvern has come home to roost," she said smoothly. Mayaki detected a hint of insult in her tone. "Tell me, Mayaki, my little minion, how did the killing go? And be honest with me... I do hate when people lie."

Mayaki gulped. Xellos piped up in her stead. "It went just fine, Beastmaster. Couldn't have gone better!" Mayaki paled. Xellos nudged her. "Right, Mayaki?"

"I wasn't asking you, Xellos. I want Miss Sora to answer me herself. Another outburst and you'll have to be punished," she breezed, adding strictly, "You won't enjoy it much, I promise you." The priest-general shrunk back slightly, thoroughly admonished. "Now... How was it, Mayaki? Did you have fun? Tear their heads off? Rip their veins out? Flay them alive? Don't spare me the details.. I enjoy tales of conquest very much." The platinum-haired woman took a long drag on her cigarette holder and gazed piercingly at Mayaki through the smoke as she exhaled it, adding to the haze around them.

"Er..." the wyvern girl began to answer. Xellos looked at her curiously. A wave of misery washed over her. She tried to cover it with a smile, but it came out more like a nervous grimace than she would have liked it to. "I... haven't quite killed them yet," she whispered, barely audible, though in the utter silence, her words echoed as if she'd dropped her iron skillet on the marble floor.

"What?" Zelas said flatly.

"Mayaki?!" Xellos stared at her.

Her temper boiled up unexpectedly. "Well, I was working up to it! I was _going_ to, and then you showed up and carried me back here without so much as a by-your-leave before I even had a chance to tell you I hadn't done it yet!" Xellos quailed.

Zelas calmly took another drag on her cigarette and tapped the ash into the large, standing ashtray beside her throne. "So. They still live." It was definitely not a question. Both Mayaki and Xellos froze in place, Mayaki staring wide-eyed and frightened at Zelas, and Xellos staring at Mayaki in disbelief. "You haven't done as I asked."

"I just need a little more time, Beastmaster, honest. And a little less interference..." she added irritably. Outside, the wolves broke into a chorus of howls. Mayaki shivered as chills raced down her spine.

"Three days should have been plenty of time, girl. Your performance is unacceptable."

"Master Zelas, please," Xellos begged.

"Silence, Xellos." Her hard eyes focused on Mayaki after glaring at her priest-general. She opened her hand face-up toward Mayaki, then made a yanking gesture in the air. Mayaki gasped and broke off a scream as it felt as if her skin was being torn off. Collapsing to the floor, she could scarcely move, watching as streams of blacker than black mist poured out of her and floated to Zelas's waiting hand. She absorbed them without a thought or reaction. "Half Mazoku you may be, little one, but your heart is too pure to fully become one of us." Mayaki coughed and sat up to her knees as the sensation passed. It was almost a release, except that Zelas still had her fixed in her vision. She felt half paralyzed. "Xellos," the Mazoku lord spoke with a voice like ice, "kill her."

The priest's jaw dropped. He'd known something like that was coming all along...but now _he_ had to kill her? He refused to believe what he'd heard.

"Kill her, Xellos, or else your fate will be worse than hers," Zelas demanded coolly.

Xellos paused, looking from Mayaki to his master and back. Mayaki was more or less rooted in place by her fear. Zelas didn't move either, giving him the impression that he was the only person in the world moving at that point in time until she smirked at him, giving him the indication that he was to make his decision. Usually, he would have had some witty response to give her as an answer, the same way he'd been vaguely defiant of Gaav, Seygram, Erlobos, Sirius... all the rest. But for now, his cynicism had deserted him, and he was left completely speechless. 

For once, it wasn't a laughing matter.

Zelas's opinion seemed to differ. She cackled shrilly at his inability to choose. "Don't make me decide for you. You remember what happened last time, don't you? The other girl.. what was her name? Oh yes... Aryssa, wasn't it?"

Xellos looked utterly shocked. "Aryssa?" he breathed softly. Mayaki's breath hitched as well in recognition of the name, and she turned to see his reaction. Zelas was hitting below the belt. Mayaki's brow knit sympathetically. Xellos finally shook himself out of his memories. "Aryssa committed suicide. You were supposed to have made her Mazoku when she did."

Zelas laughed hilariously at him. "My boy, are you really still that naïve after all these years?" Xellos's eyes went even wider and his teeth clenched together in hatred. "She didn't kill herself. You did. On my orders."

Xellos shook his head. "No..."

The Mazoku queen took another puff on her cigarette and added, "I couldn't have her getting in the way of our little plan, just like I can't have this girl messing things up for us."

"No... I couldn't have... You're lying!" he shouted in a rare outburst.

Zelas chuckled at his pain. "Oh, it was quite a spectacle to see, the fear in her eyes as you went in to blast her to pieces. She really didn't know what she'd gotten into, falling for you!" The priest-general ground his teeth, trying to keep tears from forming in his amethyst eyes. "I can't imagine why you don't remember this yourself," she smirked. "Blocked it out, I suppose. That happens now and then when you experience... trauma. Not that it matters, of course, because you're going to do it again for me now." Another puff, smoke wreathing her delicate frame and her diamond circlet gleaming in the remaining sunlight from the room's high windows. She added a final insult, basking in all the pain she was causing her servant. "I suppose it's not really your fault though, Xelly. You just have bad taste in women."

*Including you, you witch,* he spat mentally.

"Enough playing around, though. Dispatch her, if you would, Xellos."

The monster closed his eyes and bowed slightly. "As you command, Master."

Mayaki squeaked a little as she rose to her feet with a small-sounding gasp of fright. Xellos gave her a mournful, whipped-dog look as he aimed his staff at her with gritted teeth. Was he really betraying her? She felt completely helpless. Her knives wouldn't work against him, and there was certainly nowhere she could run and hide... there was only her wyvern form to turn to...and still, that wouldn't be much against such a powerful Mazoku...

*What am I going to do? I don't want to die yet!* her mind screamed as she scrambled for options.

Xellos kept staring at her, looking as if he was trying to muster enough gumption to blast her. Amazingly, she found herself gazing back with such intense love for him.

"I'm so sorry, Mayaki..." he choked out, sounding more honest than she'd ever heard him.

"I forgive you," she replied quietly. "Do what you have to."

The Beastmaster cleared her throat. "Aren't you going to run, small one?" she interjected. "Or scream, perhaps?"

Mayaki wasn't going to give her that pleasure. "No use prolonging my own death."

"I know you're afraid. I can taste your fear."

"Yes. Of course I'm afraid. I'm afraid it will hurt. But it'll only be for a little bit."

Zelas sneered. "Oh, don't worry, we'll make the pain last for a long, long time... well after you're dead." She grinned with sadistic pleasure.

Mayaki hesitated, seeming to think that over and saddening, before adding strongly, "And I won't run from someone I love."

The Greater Beast cringed. "Kill her NOW!"

Xellos tightened his grasp on his staff and summoned a spell into it. The red crystal eye glowed ominously at Mayaki. "I love you," she mouthed to him silently, standing perfectly still and being a good little target.

"I know," he answered softly. "You too. Dam Bras!" Mayaki flinched as the spell charged through the staff, expecting to be filled with agony at any second. Instead, though, at the last moment, Xellos spun, sending the Dam Bras at Zelas's throne.

"What--?" she had time to say before the blast hit her.

"RUN, Mayaki!" Xellos urged, grabbing her arm and uprooting her from her frozen state. He all but dragged her through the castle, leaving Zelas howling behind them.

"I really thought you were going to kill me for a second there!" she panted, rounding a corner after him and picking up her skirts to jog down a short flight of stairs.

"So did I," he replied, a little more honest than would have been comforting. "Nevermind that for now, let's just get some distance between her and us!"

After dashing down another passageway and bounding down an elegant if somewhat neglected staircase, Xellos made a sharp right and threw open a door, slamming it behind them once Mayaki had gotten through. She breathed a sigh of relief as she leaned against the outer wall in the last fading rays of the sun as it disappeared past the horizon, then gasped as a string of howls reached her ears. They had made it outside, but what Mayaki had forgotten was that the castle had been the only barrier between her and the hundreds of ravenous, vicious wolves.

And those howls sounded awful close.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	22. Chapter 21: In the Doghouse

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 21: In the Doghouse

Somewhere beneath the Demon Sea, the others were having a nice spot of tea and discussing their escape options when Deep Sea was out of earshot.

"We've got to get out of here," Alemo mumbled to Zelgaddis.

The chimaera nodded. "I think we've established that. The problem is, how?"

"Why, 'how,' Mister Zelgaddis? Can't we just look for a door or something?"

Zel shook his head at the diminutive princess. "We're too far under water for that. Even using magic, the pressure would probably squash us flat."

"Deep Sea must know of some way out..." Lina tried.

He shook his head again. "If she could use the Astral Plane, she wouldn't ever have to."

"So... we're stuck here?" the blonde swordsman checked.

"Looks that way. Unless Deep Sea really wants to help... er..." Lina broke the conversation off as the Mazoku trotted up with a tray of snacks. 

"Would anyone care for a crumpet? I've just baked them myself! Crumpet? Crumpet?"

Alemo took one cautiously with a polite thank you, while Lina and Gourry dove into them instantly, squabbling over the food. Deep Sea was more than a little pleased, watching them fight each other. She soaked up the extra bit of negative energy with a wide smile. Then she sighed. "I admit they came out rather dry... and a bit on the salty side. But they always do, I suppose..."

Alemo looked up with interest. "Perhaps my sister could help you with that. She's a rather brilliant cook, for as young as she is. If you'd let us go to rescue- "

Deep Sea snorted. "Posh. I won't hear of it. I so seldom get visitors down here, and I do so enjoy the company. Come along, I'll show you boys to your rooms at the other end of the palace. Us girls need our privacy, after all. And we can stay up late tonight and talk about men behind their backs and paint our nails!" she chirped excitedly.

Lina huffed. "I don't believe this! We're never gonna get Mayaki away from Xellos at this rate!"

The Mazoku lord froze in place. Her eye twitched. "Xellos?" she said with a rather frightening edge to her voice. "Xellos Metallium?"

"The very same. You know that pain in the ass?" Zel queried sourly.

Deep Sea didn't so much as look at him for a minute, then opened up and screamed her lungs out. Lina had to look up to make sure that the glass wasn't going to crack and let the sea in on top of them. Deep Sea's tray clattered to the floor, adding to the racket and sending crumpets flying in all directions. The Mazoku clutched her silvery hair in her fists, threatening to tear it out. Everyone was staring at her, but she didn't seem to notice or care.

"Yep, that's Xellos's work all right," Zel muttered to himself.

"He sure isn't good at making friends, is he?" Gourry mused.

Alemo tapped a finger on his chin. "You don't get along with this Xellos creature either then, Deep Sea?"

She screeched again. "I can't stand him! If I ever catch him setting a foot in my house-no, my whole ocean-ever ever again, I'll... I'll... I'll...well, I don't know what I'll do exactly, but I can tell you there won't be many leftovers afterward!"

Alemo put a comforting hand on her back and walked her around the room to calm her nerves. "As a matter of fact, my dear Tsarina Deep Sea, we were on our way to kill Xellos ourselves when we got swept up by your whirlpool-a lovely touch, that. Very scenic. You see, he's the one that's taken my sister away. If you could get us to the surface again, we could..." -he made a cutting gesture at his throat-"...amend the situation."

Lina blinked at him. "Spoken like a true assassin, Alemo." He glared scathingly at her.

In any case, though, he had Deep Sea's attention. "You'd do that for pretty little me?" she giggled.

Alemo nodded his head once. "I'll even draw it out, make it a slow death, but only because it's you, Dear Tsarina Dolphin. I'll drive him absolutely mad with the pain."

Deep Sea's eyes glimmered with the prospect. She squeaked happily.

"But, it's a pity... he's at Wolfpack Island, up on the surface, while we're down here having tea and biscuits..."

"Say no more!" she cackled, making a strangling motion in the air in front of her with her long fingers, no doubt imagining Xellos's neck caught between them. "I have an idea! I could send you all back to the surface and let you get rid of him for me!"

"Brilliant idea, my lady," Alemo bowed, ever the tactician.

Deep Sea caught him around the neck and bent him down to her level, though he towered over her. He ducked obligingly, noting her apprehensive glances around the large hall. "But," she whispered confidentially, "you must hurry, brave knight..." Her eyes flicked wildly from side to side, making sure no one had heard her except Alemo. "...the beetles are coming!" she whispered in a paranoid manner.

Alemo started to stare, but covered his expression with a trusting nod. "I'll keep that in mind, m'lady."

"Goo-ood!" she sang. "You'd best be on your way then!" She summoned an extravagantly large bubble around them. The whirlpool once again began its whirling above the main hall, an impressive sight from the underside. With a gesture from Deep Sea, the bubble rapidly accelerated straight up, sending its five occupants to the floor in surprise. Once it had cleared the opening of the deadly whirlpool, she made a motion of throwing something over her shoulder, as if she didn't particularly care where the object landed. Above, the bubble mimicked her action, as if it was held in her hand. When she tossed it, it shot over the water with unheard-of speed. The sphere's passengers shouted and complained as the change in inertia sent them sprawling over one another uncomfortably. Still, they were moving so much faster now that they didn't dare make a fuss.

Below, Deep Sea thought aloud to herself. "Nice bunch of kids. Real nice to come for a visit." She crossed her arms and smiled satisfactorily, then raised one arm and waving goodbye to the speeding bubble. She stood and stared at the wall in front of her for a few minutes, not seeming to realize she couldn't actually see the projectile at all. "I'll tell you what, though, Margaret," she said to the empty space on her left, "they were every one of them completely insane."

* * * * *

Mayaki snatched up a knife in each hand. She pressed herself half against the door and half against Xellos. Wolf snarls came at them from all sides. Mayaki, being raised in the woods and warned time and again about how dangerous wolves were, felt like every nerve in her body was about to shatter. "Well," she asked nervously, feeling only slightly secure with the Mazoku against her back, "what're we going to do?" Furry muzzles lined with teeth peeked out from the growing darkness.

Xellos held his chin in one hand interestedly. "Hmm," he said, irritatingly calm.

"What, 'Hmm?"' Can't you float us out of here or something?"

"Well, I could, but..." The wolves formed a tight half-moon around them.

"But? We're gonna get ripped to shreds! What 'but?'"

A deafening shriek tore through the castle, echoing across the little island. "XELLOS!!!" it screamed.

"...that," he grimaced by way of explanation. "She might have the same thing in mind for me as she did for you: strip me of my powers and then... Well, in any case, it's best that we stick to the ground."

"Oh," Mayaki blinked. "Right." She pressed herself further against him, holding one arm out and brandishing her knife at the wolf nearest her.

"Zelas is not exactly pleased with me," he chuckled nervously, trailing off as the wolves began closing in. "Hm," he snorted disdainfully, then threw a rather large fireball at the pack. The wolves that weren't instantly incinerated by it retreated rather quickly, howling and yelping. The smell of burnt flesh and hair hung heavy in the air.

Mayaki covered her mouth and tried to keep from gagging, staring at the charred remains of the closest wolves. She felt sick.

Xellos grabbed her wrist and towed her along behind him. "You can admire my work later. For now, run!"

"Eeep!" she responded, desperately coaxing her feet into motion.

* * * * *

The bubble Deep Sea had summoned screeched to an abrupt halt once it reached the shore, throwing its five occupants into the front wall in a pile. Then it burst, dropping them several feet off the ground and letting gravity do the rest of the work. The group let out a short collective scream before they had the wind knocked out of them by the beach rushing up to meet them. After a few motionless moments, someone found the strength to groan. Lina, at the top of the pile, finally sat up and complained loudly. "What kind of kook is that Deep Sea Dolphin?! Is she trying to kill us?!"

"Ugh, I feel sick," Amelia moaned, picking herself up next.

A muffled voice interrupted the girls. "Not to trouble anyone, but I can't breathe down here..."

They both looked down. "Oops," Lina giggled innocently.

"Sorry, Mister Gourry!" Amelia added, trying to scramble off the heap of bodies. "Ouch... Mister Zelgaddis, your elbows are really hard!"

Zel blushed deeply as he stood and calmly brushed himself off. "Er, that wasn't my elbow, Amelia..." he tried to explain. Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Waaaahh! I want to die!" she wailed, trying to hide behind Lina. "I want to die! I want to die!"

"Ack! Amelia, cut it out!"

Alemo looked irritated as he dusted sand off his trousers. "I don't suppose anyone here would actually care to rescue my sister like we came here to do?" he grumbled.

Lina frowned at him, then cracked him on the head with her fist. "We were getting to that! Come on, they must be around here somewhere."

"Better be ready in case they attack. You saw how Mayaki was the other night. She might not want to listen to reason next time," Zel warned sourly.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Lina snapped at him. "We were all there, Zel."

"Miss Lina," Amelia asked, trotting to keep pace with her, "what will we do if Miss Mayaki is all Mazoku? Do you know how we can change her back?"

Lina stopped mid-stride. "Um... no..." the sorceress confessed. 

"What?!" Alemo gawped.

"Lina, you really don't know?"

"No, Gourry! I kinda figured Amelia's de-possession spell might work..."

"_MIGHT_ work?" Zel groaned. "Lina..."

She huffed back at him, "Well, what was I supposed to do? Just let Xellos do whatever he wanted while we were off doing research? Yeah, right!" She stalked forward, the other following at a slight distance.

Amelia suddenly wasn't as full of hope as she usually felt. "What if we can't get her back?" The group stopped dead in their tracks, shocked at the princess's sudden pessimism; where she was normally a ray of sunshine every minute of the day, she seemed not only subdued, but depressed, and probably with good reason. No one had wanted to bring up the question that had occurred to all of them at some point, weighing heavily on them as a whole. It wasn't something that any of them wanted to think about. Amelia looked about ready to cry.

Zel set a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find a way, Amelia. And if we can't," he paused carefully, "...well, it was her choice to begin with... she'll have to live with it." He sighed heavily.

"But... that's not- "

"I know it's not right, Amelia. I know it's not just or fair or anything you would like it to be," Zel snapped at her, "but life sometimes doesn't work that way, and we just have to deal with it." He gave her one of his bare smiles. "Don't worry. This will turn out right somehow."

The princess was suddenly enraged. "You'd just leave her here?!"

"It's her _choice!_ Let her live with it like I've had to live with mine!" He gave her a scouring glare, locking eyes with her.

"Zelgaddis, she loves you!" the young woman shouted at him, skipping her usual pleasantries.

The chimaera looked shocked for more than one reason. Amelia herself seemed stunned that she'd actually had the courage to say such a thing, but she wasn't about to back down, her posture straight and defiant as a princess's should be. Zel kept staring. He had no idea what he could say to her... he felt completely helpless.

"Hello... Zel, Amelia... hate to interrupt this romantic interlude, but we're in a very dangerous, very _open_ place right now... Do you think you could break this off long enough for us to get Mayaki and go?" Lina tapped her foot impatiently, bracing her fists on her hips. 

Zel blushed. "She's right. We can talk later."

"Grr.." said Amelia, storming toward the castle at the center of the small island when the south tower suddenly exploded.

* * * * *

"Aaaa!" Mayaki squealed as the force of the explosion sent her off her feet and into the muddy ground. Beside her, Xellos had met a similar fate, though he was already sitting up.

"Wow... I haven't seen her do that for at least three hundred years... she is severely pissed now, I'd say," he observed.

"So I noticed." Mayaki scanned the underbrush for a suitable place to hide, coming up empty. Zelas had probably designed things that way; she would be able to see everything on Wolfpack Island with the barest glance from the air. Looking back toward the remains of the south tower, she let out a squeak of fear. Soaring over the rubble, straight for them, was a gigantic black wolf with golden wings. "Is that.." she stammered, "..that can't be..."

"Zelas," the Mazoku priest finished for her. For the first time in hundreds of years, and the first time in human memory, Xellos looked truly afraid.

The wolf sped across the sky like a bolt of black lightning and stopped just as suddenly, not so much hovering as simply hanging suspended in the air above the two refugees.

"A thousand years I look after you, and this is the thanks you show me," the wolf snarled, opening and closing its mouth as if it were speaking human language, though the source of the sound was not from its throat, but rather the very air around them. It surrounded them in much the same way that the wolves were encircling them now, hundreds of pairs of starving, wild eyes focused on the intruders to their island. Their stomachs made them braver by the minute. Zelas gave them a nod with her canine snout, and every one of them obeyed her, sitting obediently on their haunches to wait for her signal. Mayaki peered around anxiously at the gleaming eyes, dangerously calm, waiting.

Zelas continued her tirade. "Still, Xellos, you have been a good servant for the majority of that time in my service, and even a Mazoku lord is not without mercy." Mayaki's heart leapt at those words. Was Zelas really going to let them go? It couldn't be that easy. She glanced to Xellos for confirmation. He didn't look so thrilled.

*Oh,* she thought, *She's going to offer him another chance to kill me and come back to her... lovely. Here we go again... how many times is she going to try this, honestly?*

"So," Zelas continued, "I've decided to kill you first... before I let the wolves tear your little wyvern whore to pieces." The fang-filled jaws moved in a panting motion as the Beastmaster's cackling filled the night sky.

"I decline your mercy," Xellos answered sourly, voice flat with rage.

The wolf stopped laughing. "Oh, have it your way then. Really, I thought you had a sense of fun, Xelly." She made a motion, tuning one paw over, then snapped her jaws on the air in front of her with a canine snarl. The Mazoku priest fell to his knees, clutching at his chest in sudden agony.

"Xellos!" Mayaki yelped, trying to help him back to his feet again. The hovering creature jerked backward like a dog tearing at a rag. Mayaki saw it for what it was: the equivalent of what Zelas, in human form, had done to her.

Except that it wasn't. It was much, much worse, and she realized it as Xellos screamed again and again as Zelas's loaned power was torn from his person. Unlike Mayaki, it was more firmly attached, the blackness of it merging and becoming his soul. The tiny amount of evil that Zelas had ripped out of her had only been in her system for a few weeks and it had nearly been enough to make her pass out. Xellos, on the other hand, had been attached to his share of evil for quite a long time, and by now it was extremely resistant to being torn away from him. Mayaki watched in horror. He must have been feeling that every nerve in his body was doused in kerosene and set fire to, or fed through a mincer, piece by piece of himself being shredded and falling apart... and yet the agony was not enough to make him fall into unconsciousness. Mayaki realized that Zelas was taking her power back slowly, prolonging the torture as long as she wanted. The mist that emanated from his body was like a thousand snakes, black even compared to the moonless night.

Mayaki could only watch as the Mazoku lord drained the energy out of the priest, utterly helpless. "Xellos!" she cried again, watching him weaken further. He dropped his staff, the blood-colored crystal striking a rock and shattering on the barren ground, releasing streams of even blacker mist-the color of Nothing-which flowed to the wolf's body like a river of evil. She laughed darkly, the sound of a grave being dug in her voice. A thousand wolf eyes gleamed red.

Xellos's echoing screams died down until he was only whimpering-too weak to scream any more. His jaws clenched against the ongoing pain, not taking any notice of the small woman beside him. His eyes became glassy, his vision dulled, it was becoming a challenge to keep his eyelids from falling shut...but he couldn't let Zelas win. His shoulders began to sag, and he put one hand out to steady himself against the ground. Gods, the fire...the fire he felt in his entire body-would the torment ever end?

Mayaki's mind raced. *Have to do something... she's killing him! But what could I do against a Mazoku lord? I'm only a half-wyvern and...*

Her thought would have continued if the evil river flowing from Xellos hadn't paled and ceased in the next moment. The priest collapsed fully, heaving exhausted sighs of something that wasn't quite relief. Mayaki helped him to sit up and dragged him back against the trunk of the tree to lean against. Her eyes never left Zelas.

"Now..." she chuckled wickedly, "What shall I do with you?" The wolf's face bore a horrible grin as the Greater Beast sucked up the fear Mayaki provided. With a mental command, the entire ring of wolves took a step forward. Mayaki jumped at the sudden movement. Zelas let out a peal of laughter that all but shook the ground. "They tell me I really shouldn't play with my food, but pure fear is such a tasty dish... Tell me, little wyvern, are you afraid of me now?"

Mayaki never had a chance to answer, interrupted by a blaze of light that crashed into Zelas with enough force to send her spinning head over tail in midair twice before she could recover. And about that time, the second round hit her. 

"Ra Tilt!"

"Elmekia Lance!"

"Blam Blazer!"

A hopeful grin spread over Mayaki's face as the cavalry arrived and a plan began to coalesce in her mind. "Astral attacks, of course!" She stood just as another red half-wyvern landed before her.

"Mayaki, come on! Let's go!" Alemo commanded, eyeing the exhausted Xellos at her feet. A snarl curled his lips, revealing needle-sharp teeth and indicating the possibility of sinking them into the Mazoku priest.

Mayaki moved protectively between the two of them. "Wait. Do you know how to travel on the Astral plane, Alemo?" she asked.

"Mayaki, this is not time for questions..."

"It's important, Alemo. Please trust me!"

"We have to GO! Lina doesn't know how long she can hold the lady Mazoku off!"

The wyvern girl gave him a sly smirk. "I know how we can beat her."

Alemo blinked at her, then focussed one yellow eye on Xellos. "Well, certainly looks like you took care of this one," he growled.

Mayaki shook her head. "Zelas did that to him. Leave him be, Alemo. He's not the enemy right now."

"What? No! He tried to-"

"Would you drop it?!" she snapped at him, temper suddenly flaring up to meet his head-on. "Can you do Astral Travel or not?"

The wyvern snorted. "No."

"Damn. I'll be on my own then." She braced her reserve. "That's okay. Alemo, I need you to attack Zelas here while I attack her Astral body. Got it?"

"What? How?"

"I don't know! Er...help the others get in some close-range shots or something!"

The figure behind Mayaki finally managed to get a word in. "Mayaki... don't... you'll be killed..."

"Xellos!" She turned and knelt by him. "Are you all right?"

"...felt better. Don't go... you'll never be able to-"

"Shush. Um, stay here. I'll be back soon." With that, she transformed to her wyvern shape and phased out. Alemo gave the priest one last hard look before launching himself off the ground powerfully and soaring back toward the battle zone, dodging magic bolts from both sides, knowing full well that an Astral attack, while harmless to a human, could do some severe damage to a wyvern like himself.

Xellos sat back hard, leaning against the scraggly evergreen for support. He closed his eyes until he stopped feeling dizzy and rubbed one of his temples to ease the headache the power-drain had caused. Then he blinked at the tight line of shining, red eyes and groaned a little, realizing he was still in a fix, but glad that Zelas had temporarily forgotten him, or more importantly, she had forgotten to sic the wolves on him. An unfamiliar feeling twinged through him: concern. He hoped to the gods that Mayaki knew what she was doing...

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	23. Chapter 22: Star of the Astral Plane

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 22: Star of the Astral Plane

Mayaki floated. Eventually her mind grew accustomed to the gray shades of the Astral plane. *Gods, I hope I know what I'm doing,* she thought morosely, at last getting her bearings. She gasped, and her jaw clacked shut, then gaped open again.

Zelas, like any Mazoku, had a gargantuan Astral body, gruesomely designed, hideously thrown together, almost a jumble of mismatched parts left over from the creation of the universe, and every bit as deadly or more so than her physical forms. Being a powerful Mazoku and having stored so much fear, anguish, hatred, grief - great masses of negative human emotions-Zelas's Astral body was absolutely enormous; it would take a lot to injure it at all.

This wasn't what caused Mayaki to gasp.

What shocked her so much was that she recognized the horrible creature. And she'd killed it. The thought was heartening. If she had done it once in her dream when her powers hadn't been developed, she could surely do it again, with her skills honed by Xellos's careful mentoring. She vaguely wondered why he had brought her this particular image in her dream to have her kill. There was nothing that would prevent her from killing the creature again now. The part of her that was still Mazoku was going to enjoy this very, very much. "All right then," she muttered smugly to herself. "Time for a little payback, Beastmaster."

* * * * *

"Okay, Lina... what do we do?" Zel asked, firing up another spell as the wolf creature swooped at them, low enough to make them all duck reflexively.

The little sorceress thought aloud, running through their options. "I could try using the Laguna Blade on her, but my magic is still kinda blah. I don't know how much damage it would do or if it would work at all. Or we could keep picking away at her with Astral attacks, which will hardly do anything to stop her. Which means she'll probably kill us first."

"Encouraging thought," the chimaera sighed.

"Look!" Amelia pointed. "It's Mister Alemo!" The wyvern circled over them until he was close enough to the ground, where he simply transformed and dropped. He straightened from the crouch he'd landed in as if a twenty-plus foot plummet was nothing more to him than a game of hopscotch. 

Lina half turned to look at him, keeping her attention on Zelas as Amelia and Zelgaddis continued firing Astral bolts at her. "Did you find her?" she asked, a hint of worry in her otherwise firm voice.

"Yes," he called back over the noise of battle, also watching the wolf-demon. "And Xellos as well. He was in a bad way, but Mayaki insisted that I not finish him off. She's gone to attack Zelas from the Astral plane."

"Whaaaat??" Lina screeched, yanking on her own hair. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

"What is it?" Gourry prompted. This whole monster-attacking-from-way-up-in-the-air thing was way out of his league, even with the Sword of Light drawn and ready.

"If Mayaki is in the Astral plane, she could be injured by our attacks! She won't be safe until she's back in our plane and we can see her."

Zelgaddis sidestepped until he was in range of the conversation. "Much as I hate to darken the mood, I think you should know, Lina, that Zelas has a shield up, and our attacks are pretty much, well, useless."

The sorceress drooped. "This really is turning out to be a lousy day..."

"Look out!" Amelia shouted, barely giving everyone enough warning to dive behind a nearby ridge of rocks. A scorching stream of flame from Zelas's muzzle seared the ground where they had been standing seconds before.

"Miss Lina, please do something!" the princess begged as flames licked around the rock at them.

"I can't! The Laguna Blade is useless until Mayaki gets out of the way! I hate to say it, guys, but we're sunk."

Gourry straightened himself up, holding his chin in his hand. "Hmmm. I may have an idea."

The others blinked at him. "We're doomed," Zel announced.

"No, no, no... listen, you guys! I remember back when we were fighting Shatter-Ringo and er... whatzisname.. the guy in red robes. Oh yeah... Zero."

"That's REZO, jellyfish for brains. And Shabranigdo," Lina scolded.

"Right, right. Well, anyway, Zel and Amelia used their spells on the Sword of Light to, you know, juice it up. And then there was that other time where Lina got past Zozo's-"

"REZO!" the group yelled at him.

Gourry continued, unfazed. "-yeah, him... Lina got past his shield by getting under him." He finished and proudly stuck his thumbs in his pockets. Another gout of flame poured around the outcropping, making all but the swordsman flinch.

"So... what?" Lina grumbled, tapping her foot impatiently.

Gourry was about to continue and effectively confuse everyone even more when Zelgaddis stepped in. "So, Amelia and I charge up the sword with a Ra Tilt."

"Right," Gourry nodded.

"And then..."

He was tired of explaining things. It took too much thinking. "Alemo, how close can you fly to Zelas?"

The half-wyvern answered him with a cocky smirk. "How close do you need to be?" Not waiting for an answer, he shifted forms and bowed over enough for Gourry to jump on his back. Amelia and Zel, wasting no time, both recited the spell for the Ra Tilt, releasing the blue-flaring energy into Gourry's sword. Alemo leapt off the ground, hauling Gourry along with him.

"Aaaaa!" the swordsman cried as the wyvern swooped higher and higher. "I forgot I'm afraid of heeeiiiiiiiiighhhts!" His voice trailed as he flew out of earshot.

The remaining three gaped after him. Lina finally stuttered out, "Did... did _Gourry_ just...come up with a plan? By himself?"

"Sure looks that way," Amelia answered, equally confounded.

"I guess that jellyfish brain of his isn't all mush, anyway," Zel added.

Lina ignored the chimaera's cynicism, watching the wyvern and his passenger glide closer to their target, dodging Zelas's fire-blasts. "Be careful, Gourry," she whispered privately.

* * * * *

Zelas was rather distracted, fighting in two dimensions in two different bodies. It was disorienting, and annoying. At the moment, she was focusing her attention on the Astral plane.

"You impudent girl! I'll... argh!" she shouted at Mayaki as the little wyvern shot past, leaving a randomly zig-zagging slice across the creature's body, cutting with her razor-edged tail as she flew. There was triumph in her laughter as she mocked the demon lord, dancing across the ether, just out of tentacle's reach.

As the Greater Beast lurched sideways in the Astral plane to swipe a tentacle at Mayaki, Gourry and Alemo made their move, soaring up from underneath her and giving her a horrible gash from the enchanted sword. "Damn little human pest!" she screamed at him. With minimal effort, she called forth a part of her ether to heal herself. The wound was nothing, really; she could sustain and heal a wound like that fifty times or more without winding herself. It was the little wyvern bitch that was exhausting her. Before she could dodge, the half-Mazoku had sliced one of her tentacles off completely. The useless piece flopped on whatever it took for the ground, since the ether could be solid one second or air the next-however the dimension's users cared for it to be. Zelas tried to grab it with another tendril so she could re-attach it to herself, but the severed energy disappeared before she could.

"Stop it!" she burbled, eyes flashing brilliantly red. Then she yelped as the swordsman in the other dimension took off one of her forelegs. She sent her physical body diving after him while she summoned more of her ethereal self to grow a replacement paw.

With a small amount of luck, she managed to catch Alemo's tail in her wolf-like jaws. The wyvern squawked in shock and annoyance as his forward momentum was halted while his passenger continued on without him.

Gourry blinked as his forward progress slowed and stopped, then screamed as he realized he was falling.

"Gourry!" Lina squeaked. "Ray Wing!" she cast quickly, guiding the falling mercenary safely to the ground for a soft landing.

He opened his eyes and waved to her in appreciation. "Thanks, Lina!"

"Anytime!" she waved back.

Alemo fought like a demon to get Zelas to release his tail, but the harder he tugged against her, the more the giant wolf bit down, holding him firmly by his scythes. He tried swinging underneath her, hoping to catch some part of her in his teeth, but it was no use. He dangled helplessly, occasionally flopping his wings around. *Mayaki, where are you?* he wondered silently, almost pleading for her to come back from the Astral dimension.

Zelas laughed at him through her closed mouth. "You're as foolish as your sister, half-wyvern. And soon, you'll both be dead." Suddenly a bolt of blue light hit her in the snout, a bright contrast with her black fur. It sizzled and burned. She had let her shield down?! When had that happened? Since when was the mighty Greater Beast Zelas Metallium not even able to keep up her magic shields?!

The Mazoku lord yelped and lost her hold on Alemo, who dropped away from her like a stone off a bridge. Once he was out of her range, he simply glided to a landing, waiting for another shot at her.

Zelgaddis glared at Amelia. "I thought we'd agreed not to use Astral attacks..."

"Well... someone had to help Mister Alemo, right? I figured one Elmekia Lance wouldn't hurt."

Zel's glare continued. "Okay, but no more. You might hurt Mayaki or Alemo."

Amelia looked thoroughly chastised and stared down at her feet. "Right..."

* * * * *

Zelas, meanwhile, was concentrating more on her Astral form. That miserable little girl had slashed away more than half of her energy reserves! A new tactic was in order... something that would catch the wyvern-girl's attention, something that would appeal to her human emotions. It was humans' soft emotions that made them weak, after all.

"You fight valiantly, Mayaki Sora. I almost regret rejecting you as my servant."

"If that's an invitation back, I decline," Mayaki snarled, looping over the Beastmaster's weakened body with astounding confident grace.

"Far from it. In fact, I wish to endow you with a gift, one very prized amongst the Mazoku."

"I don't want anything from you, Zelas. Save your gifts and your breath for someone else."

"Ah, but you shall receive it anyway. It's the gift of Misery."

Mayaki hovered, glaring at the wounded demon creature. "There's nothing you could possibly do to cause me any more misery than you already have," she squawked.

Zelas chuckled darkly. "I think there is."

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	24. Chapter 23: Sacrifice's Consequence

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 23: Sacrifice's Consequence

"What's she doing? Lina asked. "She's just hovering there..."

"You don't think she's given up, do you?" Zel checked. 

"No. But I have a bad feeling about what she's going to do next..."

"Could she be powering up for another attack?" Alemo asked, once more in human form.

Lina shrugged. "Maybe..."

In a swift motion the Mazoku turned her attention back to the circle of wolves surrounding Xellos, who was so weak from her previous attack that he hadn't been able to do much of anything except brace himself against the scrawny tree.

* * * * *

In both dimensions she occupied, Zelas laughed.

Mayaki's golden eyes went wide as she realized the demon's intent. "Xellos!" she gasped.

Zelas's eyes glowed red and she nodded at the ring of wolves under her control. A thousand pairs of eyes flashed accordingly and the wolves attacked, starving for fresh meat. Xellos flinched, guarding his eyes and face from lupine teeth, but not one fang ever touched him.

"You get away from him!" Mayaki screamed, dropping back into the physical world between Xellos and the wolves. The leading few yelped and tripped over themselves to get away from the thing that had suddenly appeared in their path. Retreat made no difference to the rest of the starving wolf pack, though, and they barreled toward their intended feast. Mayaki, full of rage, fought with her entire arsenal, burning, clawing, slashing and biting the animals until the few smart enough to find food elsewhere left and the rest were killed.

* * * * *

"There she is! She's out!" Alemo shouted to the rest of the group. 

"How can you tell? It's so dark, I can't see three in front of me!" Lina complained.

The half-wyvern snorted. "I have better eyes than you. Besides, can't you hear her?"

"All I can hear is a bunch of snarling and yelping wolves, really, but I'll take your word for it. Gourry, gimme your sword."

"Huh? But Lina..."

"Just do it, Gourry. I need it for the Laguna Blade."

Gourry reluctantly obeyed. "Good luck, Lina."

"Thanks!" the sorceress nodded. "Alemo..."

"One step ahead of you. Climb on." He transformed, and the sorceress agilely hopped on, balancing easily on his shoulder blades as he took to the air. As the wyvern winged his way toward the laughing Mazoku Lord, Lina began reciting the second-most-powerful spell she knew. The Laguna Blade.

"_Sword, give me your strength,_" she commanded of the Sword of Light. It hummed and glowed, responding to her call. Alemo neared the cackling Mazoku. "_Lord of Darkness and Four Worlds, I beseech thee and thy fragments, by all the power you possess, grant the heaven's wrath to my hand; unleash the sword of dark, freezing nothingness._" Dark energy engulfed the sword she held, sizzling with both light and dark energy. Her confidence bolstered, Lina continued reciting the spell"_By our combined might, our combined power, let us walk as one along the path of destruction!_" At this point, standing balanced on Alemo's back, Lina leaped at the winged, hovering black wolf, bringing the crackling energy of the sword down into its shoulder with the words "_Laguna Blade!_" The sword arced wildly as it cleaved through the Beastmaster's physical body.

"What?! No! This can't be!" she shouted in denial. "You had no power! You would have used it by now!" The Greater Beast writhed in pain as she was cut in two, unable to draw the power she needed to regenerate or cast a spell.

"Wrong," Lina explained triumphantly. "We were just worried about our friend, ya see."

"Impudent whelp! I'll have your head for this!" Zelas screamed, her wolf body twisting and howling in agony. The black mist of negative emotions flowed thick from the fatal wound. "Curse you, Lina Inverse! Curse youuuuuu!" the creature shrieked, voice fading away to nothing as her body did the same. The black energy that seethed through the air soon dissipated, as did the remaining energy summoned to the Laguna Blade. 

Lina cast a quick levitation spell and easily floated back to the ground, where she collapsed, exhausted. A major spell like that always took it out of her. 

Gourry, Zel, Amelia, and Alemo ran up to her to help her to her feet.

"Lina, you did it!" Gourry cheered. 

She obligingly held the hilt of the enchanted sword out to him and smiled weakly. "Yeah, I guess I did, didn't I?" she chuckled. "Thanks, everyone."

"Come on," Alemo said gently. "Let's go find Mayaki."

As they reached the spot where Xellos was parked, Mayaki was clearing out the last of the wolves still aggressive enough to be a threat. Dead wolves lay everywhere. The ones Mayaki had bothered to leave alive were busily fighting over the flesh of their fallen comrades, tearing their shares from the carcasses and dragging it off to defend against anyone daring to challenge them for it. Mayaki snorted triumphantly as the pack disappeared into the darkness of the sparse woods, then returned to where her friends were in her awkward wyvern hobble-walk.

"Way to go, Mayaki!" Lina shouted, slapping her hard on the wing. "Whatever you were doing in the Astral Plane, it worked!"

"Aaawwk..." she squawked by way of a thank you, then turned her attention to Xellos. "Kraa-awwk Quaawkraaw?" she said, craning her neck toward him and tilting her head concernedly. Xellos stared at her, wearing a rather shocked look. "Awwk-kraawwk?" she repeated at him, while he held up his hands in protest, trying to interrupt her.

"Mayaki... Mayaki! Stop, stop talking... I can't understand you!"

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	25. Chapter 24: The Lap of Luxury!

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 24: The Lap of Luxury!

"Mayaki... Mayaki! Stop, stop talking... I can't understand you!"

"Rrrk?" the wyvern blinked, drawing back with a curious look. She quickly morphed to human shape.

Amelia piped up as she did so. "You can't understand Miss Mayaki at all? What does that mean?"

"I've been trying to figure out why I felt so weak. When Zelas took her power back from me, she must've taken all the energy she gave me when she turned me into a Mazoku in the first place." He looked down at his lap pensively, then tried to get to his feet. Gourry caught his arm as he staggered dizzily to one side. He put his hand to his temple as if a sudden headache had gripped him. The group was silent. "I'm not a Mazoku any more."

After a long pause, Zelgaddis finally stated, "You were human." Xellos nodded, then stopped.

"I _am_ human." He looked up to meet the chimaera's blue eyes with his amethyst ones. 

Zel ground his teeth and clenched a stone fist, holding his anger back, but just barely. "Let's go," he growled to the others.

"What, we're leaving already?" Lina complained loudly. "In the middle of the night, when we're all exhausted from fighting a dark lord, and likely to get lost and sucked down Deep-Sea's whirlpool again? Come on, Zel..." She patted his stone shoulder convincingly. 

"Would you rather stay here and fight off wolves all night?" he grumbled at her.

"'Course not. We have Wolfpack Castle all to ourselves. Right, Xellos?"

Xellos nodded fervently. "That's right! And..." he added tactfully, "Zelas had a rather impressive library you might be interested in," he smirked.

Zelgaddis clenched his fists harder. The ex-Mazoku had a point... Zel couldn't pass up a library if it had the possibility of containing a spell for his cure. He wasn't going to find it by refusing to search. With an expression of irritation and a sigh, he turned around and followed the others to the castle.

* * * * *

The small lighting spell shone through the insides of the castle, throwing random shadows to play over the walls. After dancing their way down a corridor, they lit and stayed on a pile of fallen and crumbled stones.

"Well, that's as far as it goes, then. Looks like the whole tower came down right here," Lina toed the rubble, trying to find a way through it. "I wonder if I could just Dragon Slave the whole thing..."

The rest of the group showed various expressions of shock and fright.

"Lina, are you nuts? You'll bring the whole place down on top of us!" Gourry yelped.

The sorceress gave him a deadpan look. "It's okay, Gourry, I'm not that stupid."

"Sometimes it just seems that way-ouch!" The swordsman ducked and rubbed the lump on his head, caused by Lina's fist.

"Anyway, no treasure down here. I was hoping to get to the throne room... there must've been some valuable stuff in there before you guys trashed it," Lina complained bitterly at Xellos and Mayaki.

A large yawn came from the group's smallest member. "Miss Lina, do we really have to look for treasure right now? I'm really tired..."

"She's got a point, Lina," Zelgaddis backed her up. "It's not as if it's going anywhere, especially since we're the only people on this godforsaken island."

The little redhead considered this. "Okay, whatever. Tomorrow's just as good, and come to think of it, I could stand a little shuteye. Xellos, bedrooms!" she said with sudden enthusiasm.

Normally she would have expected a smart-aleck remark like "At your service, Lina," or "You certainly could use the beauty-sleep," but none came. The self-called 'mysterious priest' was mysteriously silent, about the only time she had known him to be so without obviously hiding something. He waved a hand casually for everyone to follow him, and simply led them back down the hallway without so much as a word.

After some backtracking and a few more twists and turns, Xellos finally stopped beside an intricately-if gruesomely-carved door, adorned with heads, bodies, claws and tails of creatures too hideous to even carry a name. "Zelgaddis," the priest said shortly, "this is your stop."

The chimaera glared at him. "And why is that?"

The former Mazoku turned and grinned at him. "That is..."

"Xellos!" Lina snapped at him. He held up his hands in defense, trying to calm her down.

"Easy, Lina! That wasn't at all what I was going to say!" I was just going to tell Zel that this is the library."

Lina's angered expression dropped into one of shock instead. There was no trace of humor in his voice, no indication that he was covering anything up as there had been so many times before. He gazed seriously into her eyes, the violet of his own now seeming to have more depth than she'd ever seen in him. Now they truly had a soul reflected behind them, and it was clear to Lina that they carried a deep-down haunted look. She felt sorry for him.

"Now.." he continued, turning away from her searching eyes, "If everyone would follow me, the bed chambers shouldn't be too much farther." He stalked off down the corridor, refusing to meet anyone else's eyes. The rest followed him in silence, except for Zel, who lingered behind. Mayaki and Amelia exchanged a puzzled glance as they walked, following Lina and her spell light. Behind them, Alemo and Gourry did the same, the half-wyvern answering the swordsman's unspoken question with a shrug, shaking his head. None of them could determine the reason for their friend's sudden change in personality.

Zel paused, laying a stone hand against the ancient wood of the library door. *It could be in there...* he thought forlornly. If it was, it wasn't going anywhere until morning. He could wait at least that long, he told himself, though the words weren't nearly as convincing to himself as they had been to Lina. He tried telling himself that he needed the sleep. His thoughts lingered on the hope for his cure. If it wasn't in this library, he would just have to look someplace else for it. His quest to restore his body had been long and tiresome, looking for a cure that might never have existed.

He watched Alemo catch up to Amelia and set a hand on her shoulder. Zel averted his eyes so he wouldn't have to watch her enjoy the presence of a flesh and blood man. He cheerful giggle sang in his pointed ears.

He was getting so tired of searching. 

"Damn you, Rezo," he muttered under his breath. Somehow, cursing the one who had cursed him helped, just a little. The problem was still there, of course, but having one person to direct his hate toward alleviated some of the pain he carried.

Leaving the door and trying to concentrate on other things, he bitterly followed the others as they disappeared around a corner.

* * * * *

"Wow... I'll give Zelas one thing... she went all out for extravagance," Lina commented, examining the luxurious bedroom with its enormous canopied bed, thick rugs, and exquisitely carved and finished mirrors and wardrobe.

Xellos gave a little chuckle. "Well, if you were powerful enough to create something like this on a whim, wouldn't you?"

"Can I have this one?" Amelia asked, checking the next room. Unlike the previous one, which had a rather dark mahogany and blood-red color scheme, this room had been done in whites, pinks, and lavenders. The only dark contrast was provided by Amelia's black hair and blue eyes as she skipped into the room, spinning around to take it all in. "It's so pretty! I thought monsters weren't supposed to like pretty things," she queried at Xellos with a curious look. He blushed and scuffed a foot on the hall carpeting.

"Zelas was having an off-day when she made that one," he muttered, embarrassed for his former Lord. Amelia was completely unaware of his bashfulness, and continued to dance around the room. She looked as thought she could break into song at any instant. The odd room fit her perfectly.

Mayaki checked the next room down. It was painted all in black, the carpeting was black, the furniture had been varnished so heavily that it might as well have been black. Even the linens on the bed had been dyed black as night. Mayaki got dizzy looking into it for too long. It made her feel like she was falling into a black hole. "Wow. How Gothic. Depressing." She shut the door and moved on to the next, furnished in dark blues and greens. "This'll do," she grinned as the boys and Lina chose their accommodations across the hall.

"Good night, everyone!" Lina called with a wave.

"Good night! Sleep well!" Amelia echoed, the others giving similar responses as they closed their doors and turned in for the night. Mayaki closed her door to just a crack, peering out at Xellos, who remained in the hallway alone. As she watched, he sighed deeply and sat against the wall, his back sliding down until he was on the floor. His purple hair fell over his eyes as he hung his head.

When he didn't move for several minutes, Mayaki swung the door open and padded silently over to him, sitting on his right side. He barely acknowledged her presence at first, barely tilting his head to catch sight of her out of the corner of his eye, but then he sat up. "Aren't you going to sleep?" he asked quietly, trying his best to sound cheerful. She picked up on the sadness in his voice.

"Aren't you?" she countered. "Besides, who can sleep a wink with a gorgeous guy like you sitting outside my door moping?"

He chuckled sullenly. "Yeah, well. Don't let me keep you up. You should get to bed... you need your rest..."

Mayaki snorted. "So do you. Come on Xellos... won't you tell me what's wrong?"

The priest gave a little laugh. "What's wrong? My life-my whole entire existence. I've never done anything but damage. Ryuzoku, humans, other Mazoku; men, women, children... I took away their lives."

"You were under Zelas's control."

"Yes. But I went with her willingly. At a vulnerable moment, her words seemed so appealing... the offer of eternal life and limitless power..." He shook his head mournfully. "The things I did for that monster! Thousands of innocent people..." He stopped abruptly as another thought struck him. "I murdered the woman I loved," he almost whispered, voice deserting him. His eyes held astonishment, as if he had just now realized the events in his swiss-cheesed memory. "I murdered Aryssa because SHE told me to!" he almost shouted, but as sorrow replaced anger, his voice calmed back down to a normal speaking tone. "I could have walked away then. I could have refused Zelas, and Aryssa would have lived."

Mayaki patted his knee consolingly. "Don't worry about the past," she told him. "There isn't anything you or I or anyone can do to change it. And you're not her slave anymore. It's all over now. It was only a bad dream."

"A bad dream that lasted for a thousand years, and turns out that's reality. I really do have all of those innocent people's blood on my conscience, and for most of them, there is nothing I can do to atone. It's a burden my soul will have to bear for the rest of my days." He met her tearful eyes. "I almost let it happen to you, too."

"But you didn't," she reminded him. The air was thick with silence between them for a moment before Mayaki asked, "Why didn't you kill me? I mean, why Aryssa, and not me? What made you turn on Zelas?"

"I..." he began after a few moments of thought, "I don't know. Aryssa's soul was dark-I told you that before, that's what drew me to her in the first place-but yours, even when you were almost fully Mazoku, there was still some sort of spark in you... something that was still human and alive and... I don't know... good, I guess. Pure." He paused, realizing, then chuckled. "You may have been almost wholly Mazoku, but you still love with the heart of a human." He accented the word 'human' as if it was something very special and important. Mayaki gazed at him with an unspoken question on her lips as he laced his fingers through hers. The tricksterish gleam she was used to returned to his eyes. "Never did get to thank you for saving my life out there," he smirked at her, then gave her a deep kiss on the lips before she could do anything to react.

She grinned blissfully as he parted from her. "You're welcome," she managed, smirking right back at him.

He gave her an ear-to-ear smile in return and rose, helping her to her feet afterward. "We'd both of us better get some sleep or Lina will be on our case in the morning about not letting her get any rest, talking all night," he winked.

Mayaki giggled a little. "Yeah. Good night, Xellos." She waved, turning toward her room. He did similarly, not taking his eyes off her. 

"...and Mayaki?" he stopped her as she was about to close her door.

"Hm?" she said dreamily, looking back at him.

Xellos looked slightly embarrassed, twiddling his fingers and nervously looking down at his feet for a second. The words were there, he wanted to make them come out, but for some reason, they were just stuck. He sighed and shook his head at himself. The words had an unfamiliar taste and feel to them... something he hadn't been able to say for a millennium. Still, he wasn't going to let that stop him. "I love you, too." A hint of a blush colored his cheeks.

Mayaki felt lightheaded as a smile lit up her face. "I know," she whispered, disappearing behind the door to her room.

Xellos continued staring at her door long after she had closed it, just in case she came out again, but after a while his eyelids began feeling heavy and he held up a fist to block a yawn. He blinked, surprised at himself. "This is going to take a little getting used to," he muttered to no one and closed his door as well.

Lina had very little sympathy for those recovering from some supposed trauma.

Mayaki found this out firsthand that morning. "Hey Mayaki! Get up! Hurry!"

Shaken thoroughly by her shoulder, Mayaki's eyes snapped open and she sat up quickly. "What is it? What's going on? Is something wrong?" Her mind kicked into panic gear.

"Yeah, something's wrong-I'm starving! Get up and fix us some breakfast!"

Mayaki groaned in realization and collapsed back into her pillow. "Ungh... Lina..."

"Come on, come on! We came all this way to rescue you, ya know, and the least you could do would be to fix us a meal!"

"All right, all right, I'm up..." she protested, sitting up in bed with a yawn. Lina pitched her dress at her and she quickly pulled it on over the white tunic undergarment she'd worn to bed. She'd no sooner gotten her clothes on than Lina practically shoved her out the door and down the hallway. Once they got there, Lina stopped, looking curiously down both ways of the passage. Then she grabbed Mayaki by the wrist and hauled her toward Xellos's room. Mayaki didn't even have a chance to protest as she was dragged along on her heels.

"Hey, Xellos!" Lina thundered, kicking his door open.

"Oh, Lina, leave him be... he hasn't slept at all in a thousand years..." Mayaki pleaded.

Lina smirked. "Then one more day isn't going to hurt him!" she reasoned. "Wake up, Xellos!" she shouted in his ear. The priest flinched and woke up, looking disoriented. "Where's the kitchen?" Lina demanded.

Xellos blinked at her, trying to get his bearings. "Ah," he finally said. "There isn't one."

"There isn't a kitchen?!" Mayaki screeched.

The man shrugged helplessly. "Zelas never had any use for one. Mazoku don't need food. And if she wanted to throw a banquet, she would just conjure the food up out of thin air."

The girls both wilted, twin expressions of disappointment etched on their faces.

"N-no kitchen?" Mayaki stammered.

"N-no food?" Lina echoed.

Mayaki, nevertheless, straightened herself up immediately. "Not a problem. Lina, what's left in the provision sack?"

The sorceress tapped a finger on her chin. "I...think there might be a few eggs left..." she said at long last. 

Mayaki continued to stare at her to see if she would remember anything else. After a moment of complete silence, she prompted, "And?"

Lina turned her hands up helplessly. "That's it, I think."

Mayaki's fists balled up as she fought to hold her temper. "Didn't you think to pack any more?" she growled through clenched teeth.

"Well, we did! But Gourry and Amelia and I..."

"You ate it all, didn't you?"

"Except for the eggs," Lina added helpfully. "We didn't feel like making a fire to fix them."

Mayaki gasped in exasperation. "You are all such bottomless pits! I swear! Do you even taste your food before you swallow it?!"

"Mayaki," said the other girl patiently.

"WHAT!?"

"Temper," Lina winked.

The wyvern girl blinked. "Oh. Sorry," she said, getting herself back under control. "Right. Anyway, I'll be going to fix that breakfast now."

"Out of what? We just established that we have NO FOOD!" Lina groaned at her.

Mayaki narrowed her eyes at the sorceress slyly. "Give me some credit for being resourceful, Lina." With that she stepped out into the hall, shutting the door behind her. 

Xellos and Lina blinked at one another. Lina shrugged. "Whatever."

Silence.

"You know, now that you mention it, I'm really famished," Xellos commented.

"No kidding," said Lina halfheartedly, also exiting the room.

* * * * *

Mayaki tripped merrily along the passageway, then turned to make sure Lina wasn't following her. She giggled evilly to herself. Oh, the trick she had in mind for Lina!

She checked the contents of the provision sack. True to her word, Lina had left nothing in the gunny sack except a wilty lettuce leaf and four eggs. Mayaki snorted. "Four eggs to feed seven people... Eating all the provisions, really!" Sorcery genius or not, she thought to herself, that girl sometimes just had no regard for other people! Mayaki looked around at the junction of hallways and finally remembered that the central courtyard was to the left, and headed that direction.

Checking a few doors, she found one that led out into the bright morning sunshine. Hopping eagerly down the steps, she began gathering up sticks to make a fire. If she timed it right, she would be back just in time to catch the best coals. With the fire started with an ample supply of wood to burn through, Mayaki shifted forms and disappeared into the Astral plane.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	26. Chapter 25: Get Serious!

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo! 

Chapter 25: Get Serious!

"Mister Zelgaddis?" Amelia said quietly, opening the library door barely enough to stick her head through. She didn't like this library at all. It was dark and creepy, and the strange creatures carved on the door certainly didn't ease her mind any. "Mister Zelgaddis?" she called again, daring to come all the way through the door this time, nervous though she was. 

"Hm?" Zel's voice drifted back. "Oh, over here, Amelia." She looked the direction the voice had come from and followed the dim light of his lantern through the high, wide bookshelves. There she found him, sitting cross-legged and skimming through the pages of a book. He finished looking at it and flipped the cover shut, looking up at her with a grin. "Guess I'll have to keep this one, too," he told her, adding the tome to an already massive pile. "They're all so valuable, I can't bring myself to leave them here."

"Hm," she nodded. "Miss Mayaki said that breakfast is almost ready and to 'please pry you away from whatever you were working on so you don't starve,' " she recited dutifully.

Zel chuckled. Mayaki couldn't have predicted him more accurately. "What time is it?"

Amelia shrugged. "About nine o'clock, I guess. How long have you been in here?"

"Sometime before dawn," he answered without looking, selecting another book from the shelves. His dreams had been full of Rezo the Red Priest and his transformation into a chimaera, and the possibility that the cure was so dauntingly close. He hadn't slept more than a couple of hours, truthfully, but he wasn't tired. There were still rows and rows of books to check. He scanned the volume's contents, then replaced it on the shelf and looked back to Amelia. "Go on and eat without me, Amelia. I'll stop by the dining room later to see what's left."

"Are you sure, Mister Zelgaddis?" she double checked with wide eyes. 

He nodded absently. "I'm really not that hungry."

The little justice crusader nodded. "Me either." She picked up a book and sat down, leafing through it, wondering what a cure spell would consist of. Just then her stomach decided to turn traitor and grumbled loud enough to shake the room. A few books toppled from their places and dust filtered down from the higher cases. Amelia winced. "Stupid stomach!" she berated it.

Zelgaddis chuckled inwardly and grinned at the princess. "On second thought, Amelia, I am feeling a bit peckish. Shall we go see what Mayaki's cooked up?"

Amelia nodded gratefully and accepted the hand he offered to help her up.

* * * * *

"Wow, Mayaki, it smells delicious, whatever it is!" Lina drooled.

"I never knew eggs could smell that good!" Gourry added.

Mayaki snickered at him. "That's because it's not just eggs!" She swung a plate mounded with steak, eggs, and white gravy in front of him, then in front of Lina, Alemo, and Xellos as well. "The eggs might be a little light... I had to beat a lot of air into them in order to stretch them a little..." she explained embarrassedly as Zel and Amelia arrived and joined the others at the enormous dining table.

The steaks had been butterfly-cut in order to cook faster, but Mayaki had seasoned them with her usual painstaking style and had made the drippings into the most wonderful gravy imaginable. Even the salt-and-peppered scrambled eggs looked as though they had been prepared for a gourmet meal. Of course, none of the travelers took in any of this as they began inhaling their food. Mayaki sat casually across from her half brother and began cutting her steak delicately and precisely.

As they ate in a full-mouthed silence, a thought occurred to Lina. "Hey, Mayaki," she mumbled through her food, "where'd you get the meat from? I thought we were all out."

Mayaki's Mazoku side cackled to itself. "Do you like it?" she asked hopefully, masking her amusement.

Lina swallowed hastily. "Yeah, but where'd it come from?" By now, she had the attention of the rest of the table. They were all chewing a bit slower now. Mere curiosity was no match for delicious food.

The cook sounded slightly irritated as she answered, "If you like it, then eat it. It doesn't matter where it came from."

"It matters to me!" Lina snarled, trying to stare Mayaki down.

Gourry raised his fork slightly. "And me."

"And me!" Amelia and Xellos chorused. Alemo tried to hide a grin, but no one noticed except Mayaki. Zelgaddis simply looked aghast and tried not to focus on the topic at hand. 

Mayaki simply straightened her back, cleared her throat, and averted her eyes, carefully spearing a bit of steak with her fork.

"Mayaki, tell us!" the sorceress demanded, standing up and leaning on the table. Curiosity laced with dread really _was_ enough to make everyone stop eating by now. The girl simply kept on eating her meal without saying a word, though when a wolf howled from somewhere outside, she cocked her ear at it with a strange little grin. 

"Wolf?" Zelgaddis queried with some obvious disgust. "We're eating wolf?"

Mayaki didn't respond, closing her eyes and eating another bite of steak.

Lina clapped her hands over her mouth suddenly to hold back a gag and dashed from the room. Amelia and Gourry left right on her heels wearing similar expressions.

Xellos and Zelgaddis continued to stare at her quizzically.

"You fed us wolf meat?" Xellos accused. "My first breakfast as a human again and you feed us wolf meat?!"

Mayaki burst into giggles. Alemo let out a belly laugh that shook the room. Zelgaddis eyed them suspiciously. "Is this a wyvern thing, or would you two care to let the rest of us in on the joke?"

Alemo stopped guffawing long enough to answer him. "It's not wolf."

"Not wolf?" Zel echoed, still suspicious.

"Plain old regular beef, in fact," Mayaki added with a coy smile.

Zel glared at her. "Beef?" he said flatly. "Mayaki..."

"I made a little trip to the mainland this morning, since Lina and the other two ate us out of food. I figured they needed to learn their lesson." The girl grinned secretively.

Xellos inspected his plate skeptically. "So... how do we really know this isn't wolf steak we're enjoying?"

Mayaki put her hands on her hips, mouth open indignantly. "Don't you trust me?"

Alemo explained for her between bites. "It's not. I've had wolf before and it's much coarser meat. Plus, with the conditions of the wolves on this island, I daresay their meat would be near impossible to chew." He turned to his half-sister. With a smirk. "Mayaki, you little trickster!"

Xellos offered a chuckle. "Lina's not going to be happy with you when she finds out, you know," he grinned.

Zelgaddis merely shook his head at them all as he finished breakfasting. "I'm going back to the library. If I hear a loud boom, I'll know Lina found out." He gave Mayaki a crooked smile as he passed her. "_Try_ to stay out of trouble..."

* * * * *

"I can't believe she would do that to us! Oh, is she ever in for it! I'm not letting her get away with this. Mayaki's gonna PAY!" Lina continued the rant she had started nearly an hour earlier, when Alemo had casually passed the word to the livid victims of Mayaki's wolf-meat joke. Lina, naturally, was mollified to find out she'd been suckered by a cook.

But, instead of going after Mayaki herself, Lina contented herself to complain and issue threats to Amelia and Gourry as she explored and more or less looted the castle. "I mean, what was she thinking? Making us think we were eating wolf, ugh! The jerk! Ooh, hey, jewels!" The sorceress's demeanor immediately changed as the gems caught her attention. She pulled the desk drawer out completely and dumped it into her sack of previously collected booty. Then she carefully replaced the drawer and slid it into place.

"Why bother putting it back?" Gourry asked over her shoulder. She handed him the bag to carry for her. 

It's fine furniture, Gourry. You don't just pull a drawer out and leave it!"

"Yeah, but...it's not like anyone would care. There's nobody here, except ghosts maybe."

"Ghosts?" Amelia squeaked.

Lina shook her head slowly, sighing. "Amelia, he's just being stupid. If there were ghosts here, I'm sure they would have showed up last night."

The horror never left Amelia's eyes. "What if they're just waiting, to reassure us?"

"Those would be some pretty smart ghosts," Gourry stated, holding out the bag for Lina to dump another batch of knickknacks into it. 

"Come on, guys... why would there be ghosts HERE? Nobody's ever been here except wolves and Mazoku," Lina scolded.

Amelia looked no better for the reassurance. "You don't know that for sure, Miss Lina! Who knows what went to in this creepy castle?"

Something in Gourry's mind clicked together. "Maybe they're ghost wolves!" He seemed proud of his assessment.

"Aaaaa! Miss Lina!" The timid little princess clung to the redhead, blocking her windpipe.

"Amelia, get a grip!" Lina choked out, trying to detach her.

"I'm scared! This place is spooky!"

"Amelia!" the sorceress squawked, managing to disengage the smaller girl with much struggling. Amelia had no intention of going anywhere, dropping to her knees and grabbing Lina around the waist. "Please, Miss Lina! I want to get out of here!"

Lina rolled her eyes skyward, sighing. "Come on, Gourry, let's see what else we can find around here," she told the swordsman and started down the hall, dragging Amelia along behind her.

* * * * *

She paused, assessing the chest of drawers before her. "It really is a shame we can't take any of this great stuff back with us. It would sure turn a nice coin on the open market!"

Gourry meanwhile fiddled with a vase of pussy willows. "Well, why can't we?" he asked absently.

"Gourry! Idiot! We're on an island in the middle of the Demon Sea, the most treacherous body of water in the whole world, with no boat!"

Amelia piped up from the vanity, where she was sorting through a drawer of assorted baubles, trying on every other thing she came across. "You could always ask Miss Mayaki and Mister Alemo to take something back for you," she suggested. "Do these look like real pearls to you?"

Lina didn't even bother looking. "Why would Zelas make fake pearls when she could make real ones?"

"Good point..."

"Anyway, Mayaki isn't exactly a pack horse, and even if Alemo did the carrying for us, once we get it back to the continent, we wouldn't have a place to put it," Lina sighed, her tone becoming more depressed by the instant. "Oh, why? Why me? This stuff could be worth so _much_ if we only had a place to store it until we could sell it off..." she whined.

Amelia nearly fell over. "Miss Lina! Don't you ever think about anything besides money?!"

"Sure," she answered cheerfully. "Food!" Amelia groaned and fell forward over the vanity, banging her head on it and not particularly caring.

Meanwhile Lina paused for a moment with her chin in her hand. She kept her eyes pinned thoughtfully on Amelia. The diminutive princess looked up and began to balk under the sorceress's stare. "Hey, Amelia..."

"Before you even ask, Miss Lina, the answer is no! You're not going to fill Daddy's castle up with all this stuff!"

"Oh, come on, Amelia! There's no such thing as too much expensive furniture!" She waved her arms at the room around her. Zelas, obviously, had agreed with that point. 

Amelia steadfastly crossed her arms. "Easy for you to say when you're not the one banging your shins on it! Besides, you're way too greedy!" she paused, the hanging silence begging just a little more from her as a conclusion. "Plus, Daddy would be mad at me." She scuffed her foot on the carpet.

Lina drooped a little. "Yeah, I guess we kind of have put upon Phil pretty often. We should probably give the guy a break," she thought aloud. "But still, I hate to see all this great stuff go to waste, and we need someplace big to put it."

"Like a barn, maybe?" Amelia suggested, relieved that the pressure was off her.

"No... not a barn. It might be big enough, but if the roof leaks..." She visualized several pieces of furniture in said leaky barn, slowly decomposing from the water damage. "Not to mention the number of mice and spiders that will get into the mattresses! No, they have to be in a house." She wilted slightly. "Problem is where can we store it all until we find a buyer? I could leave a few things with Mom and Pop and Luna, but they don't have room for all that much to begin with, and even if I did give them some to hold onto, chances are they'd want to keep them for themselves." The sorceress paused thoughtfully. It had been a while since she had run up against a quandary this puzzling... or this potentially profitable. She glanced at Amelia again in hope of gaining her sympathy, but was only met with a fierce, royally-adamant glare. Not to be defeated, Lina wrinkled her brow up, deep in thought. "A commoner like me or Gourry wouldn't have enough space to store stuff. BUT, someone with a more privileged upbringing...someone who can afford to have minions dispatched to find the Philosopher's Stone for him, someone who studied under Rezo the Red Priest...." She trailed off, her indication quite clear.

"But Lina... where are you going to find someone like that?" Gourry inquired from the sofa where he sat, bored.

Both Lina and Amelia all but fell over. "Mister Gourry!" Amelia chided condescendingly.

Gourry blinked at them innocently. "What?"

Lina explained impatiently. "I'm talking about Zelgaddis, Gourry. You _do_ remember who he is, right?"

"Ohhhh... so, Zelgaddis has onions?"

The sorceress sighed deeply. "Why do I bother? Zel has _servants_, Gourry."

Another blank look from the mercenary. "He does?"

"Yes, Gourry! Do you remember Zolf and Rodimus?" Lina looked over her companion's face. "No, of course you don't. Nevermind. Let's go find Zel and ask him if we can store stuff at his place."

Amelia hopped up from her chair, gathering the jewelry she'd found into her belt-pouch. "Mister Zelgaddis isn't going to like the idea of this, Miss Lina..."

Lina chuckled in response. "He doesn't have to like it, he just has to go along with it."

The justice-loving princess stared skeptically as she followed. "You don't honestly think that when you ask him to let you fill his house up with furniture that he's going to say yes, do you?"

Giggling, Lina waved a hand at her. "Of course not! That's why _you're_ going to ask him."

"Whaaat?!"

"You heard me! Now get a move on, or I'll start sending stuff to your place."

Amelia pouted. "You sure know how to coerce people, Miss Lina," she mumbled as she exited the room, Gourry trailing along faithfully behind the two girls.

* * * * *

Zelgaddis picked up another book and leafed through its contents, sighing before replacing it on its shelf. Searching Zelas's extensive library was becoming more than slightly tedious. "Can I really expect to find it here at all?" he wondered silently.

Not bothering to try answering the question, he moved on to the next book, barely glancing at the title. It didn't sink in until he began skimming its text, at which point he half-closed the book to really read the title: Origin of the Wyvern Race. His jaw slacked open as he concentrated on the words, turning page after page. He took in the tales of the wyverns' early days, when they were on a level equal to the Ryuzoku-the Dragon Race. It was wholly reminiscent of Mayaki's tale; even the wording she had used when telling her story seemed familiar. Zel thought he even remembered a few of the phases she had used word for word. Had she read this book before? Surely not... a rare tome like this wouldn't be available to just anyone. Mayaki had certainly not mentioned anything about researching her roots... but perhaps Talia...

For the second time, the chimaera closed the book, keeping his place with one finger while he checked the title pages for an author-and gasped in shock. "Mayaki!" he shouted, stumbling over his own two feet in his rush for the door. "Mayaki! Alemo!"

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	27. Chapter 26: A Gripping BestSeller

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 26: A Gripping Best-Seller

Amelia practiced her words as she approached Zelas's library. Maybe Miss Lina would lay off her for a while if she got her way about the furniture. "Mister Zelgaddis, we need to... no. Mister Zelgaddis, we would really like it if... Mister Zelgaddis, could we...? Ohh, this is really going to be hard," she moped. After another rehearsal or two, she was ready to face him with the question. "Mister Zelgaddis, we were wondering if you might have someplace to..."

She stood beside the library doors, grimacing again at the gruesome carvings. She turned to look over her shoulder at Lina and Gourry, both peeing around the corner at her supportively. 

"Go on, go on!" Lina shooed cheerfully. It was more than obvious what her ultimate motive was. Amelia balked, but steadied her resolve and was reaching for the twisted iron handle of the dark, heavy door when it suddenly flew open in her face. She squeaked fearfully and leapt backward to avoid being squashed between the wood of the door and the stone wall.

"Mayaki!" Zelgaddis shouted, hurtling explosively through the corridor. "Mayaki!"

Amelia flattened herself against the wall to save herself from being trampled by the chimaera. He shot past using his demon speed, so fast that the wind he generated in his wake stirred her cape and ruffled her hair out of place. 

"Mister Zelgaddis!' she cried out to him belatedly. He was already gone, moving faster than any human was capable of, even using magic. Her eyes teared up. "He didn't even notice me," she sniffled.

Lina and Gourry joined her. "Geez, where's he off to so fast?" the sorceress asked.

"Yeah, what's the rush?" her companion added.

Amelia wiped her nose. "He's off to see Mayaki."

* * * * *

"Mayaki! Alemo!" Zel burst through the door to the dining hall, where the two half-wyverns and Xellos sat, discussing this and that while dinner cooked out in the central courtyard. Zelgaddis's arrival was so sudden and so vehement, almost panicked, that the three of them jumped to their feet. He startled Mayaki so much she let out a short, sharp scream as she leapt up. 

"Zelgaddis! What is it?" she squeaked, scolding herself for her childish reaction.

"Are we under attack?" Alemo drew his long sword, holding it at the ready. Xellos looked around confusedly, still unused to the dullness of human senses. Ordinarily he would have heard an attack coming quite literally a mile away, possibly further if they were especially loud. But no more. The thought of mortality asserted itself as his mind raced, searching futilely for some sort of weapon to defend himself with. 

Zelgaddis looked up at him in tome to see the expression on the priest-general's face. He smiled wickedly. *How does it feel to be human, Xellos?* he thought, thoroughly amused. 

Xellos, though he did not hear Zelgaddis's inner thoughts, could rather sense them in the proud smirk the chimaera gave him. The priest scowled, partly at Zelgaddis, though mostly at himself. He had no power now, he was no longer a Mazoku. That was no reason for him to become a coward, and he chided himself for acting so foolishly, attack or no.

Zel drew his attention back to the matter at hand, speaking excitedly, and quite out of character for one who played the part of the heartless swordsman and sorcerer. "No, no attack," he said, "but look at this!" He laid the book on the table before them. It immediately shed a thick layer of library dust onto the table and into the air, making everyone cough and wave their hands to clear the dust away from themselves. A disappointed silence pervaded the room as the other three stared at Zelgaddis. Alemo lowered his sword slowly. Mayaki brushed a loose strand of russet-burgundy hair out of her face and behind her ear.

"Zel," she started, quietly and calmly, "You.. scared.. THE HELL out of us! Do you ever do that again!!" she screamed at him.

The amused, wry grin never left his face as he pushed the book across the table to her. "Aren't you going to see what I've brought for you?"

With a snort of irritation, she picked up the dusty tome and wiped it slightly with her apron. She held it up in one hand (though it was rather heavy) to read the title. " 'The Origin of the Wyvern Race,' " she read nonchalantly, promptly looking more dazed at the rest of the title. " 'An Historical Account of Wyverns, as told by...Elric Debarro'?" Mayaki's jaw slacked open.

"What?!" Alemo exclaimed, pouncing on the book to see for himself. Mayaki gazed back to Zelgaddis in confusion. "My father wrote this book? But...how can that be?"

The chimaera shook his head. "Who's to say?"

Xellos, trying to look bored, sat on the table, resting his feet on the back of one of the chairs. "Well, you know how it is... when you live forever, you'll do just about anything to amuse yourself." He looked at the nails on one hand and buffed them lightly on the shoulder of his cloak.

Alemo snorted. "You sound like you speak from personal experience."

"Naturally," the priest grinned back at him.

Mayaki ignored their conversation, scanning through the book's contents, noting bits of the tales about wyverns that her mother had always told her. She blinked and realized that they had probably come straight from Elric himself. A certain passage caught her eye as she skimmed through the pages. She read aloud for the others, but softly enough that they had to lean in to hear her. "Contact with the human race is infrequent, though wyverns may change their form to a human one in order to walk among them unnoticed. Relations with humans seem to be even rarer, and, sadly, often end in disaster. This may be attributed to wyverns' attitude toward humans, or the humans' general opinion of wyverns. Such relations, if ever found out, are highly disproved of by both races."

"Well," Alemo interrupted, muttering to himself, "at least we know that we'll be hated by both sides..."

Mayaki shot him a scathing glance and continued without comment. "The offspring of these rare unions capture the best and worst of both worlds: of humans, they gain the wonderful capacity for thought and emotion, freedom of spirit, and the perspective to see life as new and fleeting each day: something overlooked by those races that live aeons, who have all but forgotten what it is to live in the moment. Yet thus they also inherit the brevity of human life, living only the span of seventy years or slightly more. On the other side of the coin, half-wyverns will inherit the powers of the wyvern: breath of flame, flight, claws, horns, tail, use of the Astral Plane, shapeshifting, etc-however, this has been observed to be coupled with the insatiable lust for blood and black emotions which plagues every member of the Wyvern Race." Mayaki paused for a moment, digesting the text and also swallowing harshly over the lump in her throat. "At first, this may seem utterly hopeless to the half-breed offspring, though one must recall, as I discussed earlier in this volume, that wyverns are masters of the _corpus mutato_, the changing of form. The Race is such masters of this art that they may, with permission, change not only the forms of themselves, but also the forms of those around them. This was the sacrifice of the Wyvern Race; in exchange for the power of shapeshifting, all wyverns shed their forelimbs, and to this day stagger upon two feet not designed for walking upright. Thus, a wyvern may take or give any form but that of a member of the Dragon Race." Mayaki looked up, locking gaze with Zelgaddis. She could tell simply by looking that he had not known about this, had not read through that chapter himself. His face was consumed by a look of excruciating, desperate hope. She knew his thoughts as well as her own, because, in a way, they were her own. A cure. A way. A miracle. To be human, that was all that either of them wanted. No one else in the room existed in that moment. 

"Where?" he asked, his voice the barest whisper.

Mayaki had to tear herself away from his eyes, she was so hypnotized by the pools of deep, hungry, endless blue they held. Deep Sea herself would have been envious of the ocean they held. Mayaki stammered slightly as she broke free, glancing around to Xellos and her half-brother, then focused back on the book. "Let's see...it...doesn't seem like it says here... Hold on." Once again she began skimming the book's contents, a page at a time. Xellos made an attempt to read over her shoulder while Alemo simply sat across the table from them, watching her like a hawk. The mention of their father had him stewing. His expression told that much. The news hadn't put him in a very good mood. 

At that point, three more bodies entered the room at a run. Ignoring the rapt silence in the room, Lina burst out with, "Hey, Zel! Can we store some of this great furniture at your place? How big is your place anyway? And don't worry, this is just until we can get back and sell it off." Lina was wringing her hands anxiously, anticipating the moment of sale. 

Zelgaddis only looked confused. She might as well have asked him to take his head off his shoulders and roll it across the room. He cocked his head at her curiously, one eyebrow dipping much lower than the other. "What?" His mind wasn't even in the right gear to process her question. Lina, of course, didn't recognize this.

"Come on, Zel! We know you've gotta have a mansion or palace or something _some_where! Why not let us use it to store stuff in while you look for your cure, huh?" She aimed a winning smile-and-wink combo at him. "We'll even cut you in for fifteen percent of the profit! Whaddya say?"

Amelia paused, doing the math in her head. "Wait a minute, Miss Lina! That's not fair for Mister Zelgaddis at all! Even if we split it seven ways, we'd each get fourteen percent!"

"Quiet, Amelia," Lina instructed, holding a hand over the princess's mouth. "Twenty percent then, Zel."

"What are you..." ...talking about, he would have said, except that Lina cut him off.

"Fine, twenty-one percent, but I'm not going any higher."

Zel's mind finally caught on and clued in. "How do you even know I have a palace to put your stuff _in_?" he queried with a smirk.

"Oh, come ON! You don't think we're _that_ dense, do you, Zel?

The smirk dropped. "Huh?"

"Traveling with someone for three years gives you a lot of time to get to know them. Even if they don't come right out and tell you about their past, there's some things that you can just tell about a person." Lina's smile never broke.

Zel glared at her out of the corner of his eye. "Such as?"

"Such as, you have servants. More than just Zolf and Rodimus, I'd wager, since you sent so many to look for the Philosopher's Stone for you."

The chimaera's eyes widened at the mention of his compatriots and minions. It had been a long time since he had thought of them, and he was slightly ashamed that he hadn't. The battle with Shabranigdo had been three years ago, the battle when they had both been killed. "Rest their souls," he murmured.

"Second," Lina continued, oblivious now that she was on a roll, "you don't act like a commoner like Gourry or I. You're not as formal as Amelia or Phil, so I'm guessing you're not royalty, but you're still a higher-up. It's in your posture," she explained at Zel's rather dumbfounded look. "You can take the prince out of the castle, but you can't... mh, well, you get my meaning. Plus, you're Rezo the Red Priest's grandson, um, sort of, so I bet you and your family are pretty well-taken-care-of. When you tried to buy the Oryhalcon statue from me, you said that money was no object. So you're pretty rich. And given the choice of saying mansion or palace right now, you chose palace, which tells me that living in a simple mansion is out of the question for you." She paused triumphantly before asking, "Am I right?", knowing full well that she was.

Zelgaddis sighed, defeated.

"Twenty-one percent," said Lina.

"I'll hold you to it," Zel grinned back to her. Then he turned back to the table. "Find anything yet, Mayaki?"

The girl kept turning pages without looking up. "Not yet," she said sourly. "This isn't going to do us any good if we can't find out where the Wyvern Race lives..."

Lina blinked at them. "You... you found a cure?" The idea completely astounded her. Before, it had been just an abstract goal to her... something that was out there somewhere, ideally, that they were trying haphazardly to find. But the blurry image had just become startlingly clear.

"Maybe," Zel confirmed, eyes fixed on the book. He didn't dare be more optimistic, lest he change their good fortune.

"Zel, That's great!" Gourry shouted.

"Hurray!" Amelia echoed.

Zel whirled on them quickly. "I said _maybe_. We haven't confirmed anything yet and it's still a matter of finding out where these wyverns are." The room was silent as every pair of eyes focussed on him. He banged a stone fist on the heavy table in frustration. The impact left a gouge in the varnished wood, exposing the original color within. Zelgaddis stared at it and winced.

"Well," Xellos ventured awkwardly, "at least now you know it exists ..."

The chimaera seized him by the neck. "You shut up! You're the last person I want to hear this from!" He threw the priest into a chair. Xellos let out an "oof!", followed by a yelp as the chair tipped over backward from his momentum. Zelgaddis stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Amelia started after him, but stopped, her words catching in her chest. She was getting a better idea of when Zelgaddis needed to be by himself. She stared piteously at the door.

Xellos and Mayaki exchanged a glance. Lina watched the door slam and shrugged. "So, what's the book about, Mayaki?"

"I'll tell you in a second," the half-wyvern snarled acidly.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	28. Chapter 27: Like Sands in the Hourglass

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 27: Like Sands in the Hourglass...

Zelgaddis could not be coaxed from his room that evening, even missing out on supper. Instead, he tried to take refuge in sleep, but was only able to doze fitfully, his dreams full of nightmare images. There was the usual presence of Rezo, making him relive his painful transformation into a chimaera, and yet, they were not the same as before. Other images were intermingled. In one, Amelia was with him and they had both been turned into chimaeras. In another, Rezo controlled his body, forcing him to slaughter his friends one by one... Lina, Gourry, Xellos, Alemo, Mayaki.

Amelia.

No matter how much he protested inwardly, he could not stop his arms from plunging his thin double-edged sword deep into their hearts. None of them made a move to fight back, completely and innocently trusting in his bond of friendship. He fought most when it came down to Amelia. She was the only one left, standing there amidst the blood and gore, not seeing any of her slain friends, smiling a welcoming smile at him. She never suspected him of anything, even though his body moved toward her on its own, blood-slicked sword aimed to kill her. Zelgaddis was merely a puppet, forced to watch as he murdered the girl he loved.

*No, NO!* his mind screamed, though his lips said nothing and his feet moved closer to the ever-smiling form of the innocent little princess. She barely flinched, only straightened a little as the sword bit through her soft stomach all the way to the hilt. Too late, Rezo released him, and Zel dropped to his knees as Amelia's body collapsed, the sword sticking out of her at a strange angle. The dark red stain of blood pooled behind her on the ground and profaned the pure white of her clothing. She looked up at him in shocked betrayal, and mouthed with her final breath, "Mister Zelgaddis, why?"

"Amelia! No! I didn't mean to!" he cried, holding her up with one arm.

"Why?" she repeated as the life left her eyes. "Why did you hurt me?"

"No, Amelia! I never meant to hurt you!" The dream ended with those words, giving way to other broken dreams that came and left in snippets of nonsensical horror. Mayaki, carrying her own severed head. Gourry, piercing Zel's stone body with the Sword of Light. Voices screaming at him. Eventually, it was too much for his mind to cope with and he started awake in a cold sweat.

He cast a small lighting spell and sat up in bed, breathing harshly. "Gods," he rasped, shaking his head. What time was it? Well past dark, he guessed, though from the castle's windowless inner rooms, it was impossible to tell for sure. Despite having skipped dinner, he wasn't terribly hungry. Zelgaddis had never been a big eater like his travelling companions, especially Lina and Gourry, though he had certainly taken a liking to Mayaki's unique cooking. For the moment, though, he just wanted a glass of water. Nothing could dispel a bad dream like cool drink. 

He wandered out into the hall and rummaged through the group's remaining travelling supplies, mourning the loss of his coffee cup in the whirlpool. He eventually came across a canteen, drained half its contents and screwed the lid back on tight. 

As he was headed back to his room, he noticed that his spell light was not the only light burning in the castle. From Mayaki's room, it seeped out from beneath the door. No one else seemed to be awake. Curious, Zel approached and gently pushed the door open. The candle's light flickered, welcoming him.

"Mayaki?" he asked in a whisper. "Are you awake?"

The girl snapped up from her book, startled for a moment, then focussed her eyes on him and smiled. "Yes, Zel. I'm still awake," she replied, being sure to keep her voice low. "Come in."

He accepted her invitation and sat beside her on the bed, which was done fittingly in burgundy and green. He noted how much it-and the rest of the room-matched her personality. "What are you doing up so late?"

She blinked. "Is it really that late?"

"Everyone else is asleep," he informed her. She seemed shocked.

"I had no idea," she said. "I just got caught up in my father's book."

Zel smiled slightly. "I imagine you would. Is he any good s a writer?"

Mayaki grinned back at him. "He's quite good, actually. A very literary wyvern." She sighed. "No definite traces of his whereabouts, though."

Zel scanned through the page she was reading, kept scanning as she turned it. As the words came together in his mind, he grabbed the book from her. "This is it!" he exclaimed.

"What? Where?"

"Here!" he pointed. " '...when someday I will return to the Darisalito Mountains, where my fellow wyverns reside.' Mayaki! This is IT! We know where he is!"

"Yes!" she squeaked. "Yes, yes, YES! Oh, Zel!" She threw her arms around his neck.

"Mayaki!" he laughed back to her almost amorously as he scooped her up off the bed and spun her around. She shrieked with laughter.

That was when the door opened. "What the hell are you two doing?! It's two in the freakin' morning!" Lina squalled. The chimaera and wyvern looked embarrassed. Zel set Mayaki back on her feet.

"Um, sorry, Lina. We didn't mean to wake anyone up..."

"Well, you did!" Xellos retorted, shoving his way into the room. "What exactly _were_ you two up to?"

"Yes, what?" Amelia resounded from the door, also trying to crowd her way past Lina, who fought to keep her out.

Zel scowled at them all, blushing furiously. "Nothing happened."

"Sure, Zel. We all heard you. Why not just admit it?" Lina insisted.

"Admit _what_?!" the chimaera sputtered. "There's nothing to admit!"

Xellos eyes him suspiciously. "Then what are you doing in Mayaki's room in the middle of the night?" There wasn't so much as a hint of humor in his voice. There wasn't much doubt about what he was angry about.

"I saw the light burning and came to see what she was doing still awake!" he half-shouted, half-groaned, more than a little flustered.

"Oh, you just happened to come into her room."

Zel ground his teeth. "She invited me in." 

"I'm sure she did. Especially if the two of you had planned this little rendezvous ahead of time."

"What are you saying?" he wailed, exasperated. He was beginning to wonder if this wasn't just another bad dream.

"That must have been exactly how it went, Zelgaddis. You saw her light and came into her room, and she was so excited to see you that she leapt right into your arms and started screaming...'yes, yes, oh, Zel, yes!' "

"Just like you to misconstrue everything!" the chimaera snarled, half-consciously dropping into a fighting stance with his fists balled.

Mayaki was beside herself, trying to interject, but she couldn't be heard over the two shouting men. "Xellos, Lina, He's telling the truth! Won't you listen??"

Amelia had to have her say in the matter as well, adding to the din. "Don't you try to defend him, Mayaki! I see exactly what's going on here! It's just like that night that you both went off into the woods and then wouldn't talk to each other the next morning! It's all so clear now!"

"What? What are you talking about?" the little wyvern replied, utterly baffled. Mayaki froze to the spot, trying to figure out what sin she had committed.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, you-Lina! Let go of me!" The princess was distracted by her comrade at arms, as well as Gourry and Alemo (who had been just casual observers up until this point), who were trying to keep her out of the fray. "She pointed an accusing finger at Mayaki. "Admit it, you tramp!"

"...the hell?!" Mayaki blinked.

Meanwhile, Xellos and Zelgaddis were face to face, having not yet come to blows, but on the brink of it. "What were you doing with her, you monster?"

"ME! You, of all people, dare to call me THAT?!"

Mayaki turned her attention to this half of the fight, hoping to sort things out there first before the two men ended up killing each other. She grabbed Xellos's shoulder, trying valiantly to turn his attention to her, but he shrugged her hand off. "Xellos!" she wailed, "Please, stop this!"

"Stay back, Mayaki," he snarled. Mayaki recoiled instantly. She had never seen this side of the priest, and it frightened her.

"Xellos..." she tried once more before switching to Zelgaddis, hoping for better results. "Zel, please, stop! This is ridiculous!"

"Stay out of it, Mayaki. This is between the coward priest and I."

"Coward, am I? See how you stand up without that stone armor, and we'll see which one of us is the coward!"

"Tart! Tramp!" Amelia screeched from the hallway as the other three attempted to keep her contained.

Mayaki panicked, looking back and forth between the princess, the chimaera, and the trickster priest, all ready to slit each other's -or her-throats, and still, she wasn't even sure what she or Zel had done wrong. It was later than she had thought, and the lack of sleep at this point was certainly not helping her to focus any. The din of the three shouting voices made her ears ring. She clapped her hands over them to block the noise, still piteously staring at them all, about to kill one another. And she snapped.

"STOP IT! SHUT UP! SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!" she screamed, her voice straining over the other three. "Stop this nonsense before I have to kill you all just to get a little PEACE and QUIET and CALM!! Since when did you all get so damned petty?! If this is what it takes to be human, if this is what it is, then I'm better off being a wyvern!" She threw the book against the wall and stormed past them all, down the passageway to the courtyard.

There was dead silence as she stomped away. All had looks of guilt on their faces-even Lina, Gourry, and Alemo, who hadn't really joined in the fracas at all. "I think we made her mad, " Lina said softly.

"Well, whatever gave you that indication?" Zel snapped back at her. He breathed an irritated sigh and moved to pick up the book. He winced; several pages of the ancient tome had come unglued and fallen off the spine on impact. It was a shame for such a rare and precious book to be treated so poorly.

But then, he thought, it was a shame for such a rare person as Mayaki to be treated so badly...

Xellos looked abashed. "So... I guess this means you weren't...er..." He twiddled his fingers.

"If you had listened to me instead of assuming you knew everything, you would have known that from the very start," Zel growled at him, fitting the pages back into place.

"It's just easier to jump to conclusions than find out what's really going on," the priest admitted, offering his hand to Zel to help him to his feet. The chimaera glowered at it and its owner. "I'm sorry, " Xellos stated, in case his apology hadn't been implicit. Zelgaddis finally conceded with a sigh and allowed the priest to help pull him to his feet, continuing to clasp the former monster's wrist in a handshake.

"You finally know what it's like to be human again," he stated boldly.

Xellos nodded once. "Jealousy, I suppose, is a basic human instinct." He dropped his head, shook it a few times, and looked back to the chimaera. "If I was still Mazoku, this would seem funny as hell."

Zel's solid expression didn't change, but he nodded, acknowledging the irony, and released Xellos's hand.

"I should apologize too, Mister Zelgaddis, to both you and Miss Mayaki," Amelia added, blushing. "I've been acting like a little kid. I'm so ashamed of myself... I was very unjust . Can you ever forgive me?"

Zel focussed his attention on the petite girl before him. He could see the tears in her eyes and hear them in her voice. She not only looked shamed, but heartbroken, and possibly... fearful? "A-amelia I..." Again, the words caught in his throat. He had meant to tell her on the spot that he loved her, her and no one else, not even Mayaki... but it just wouldn't come out. Was his heart really that hard, that he couldn't tell her he loved her? Was his heart truly as stony as the rest of him?

The delay in his answer was too much for Amelia to bear; she fled, crying, back to her room. The slam of her door echoed through the empty castle.

He reached after her, as if it would stop her from running, but it was a wasted gesture. Zelgaddis grumbled lowly, annoyed with himself even more then before. The hand not occupied with the book curled into a fist, and he beat it against his thigh pensively.

"She'll be fine in the morning, Zel. Don't torture yourself about it," Lina breezed. "That's Amelia for you."

"Hm," Zel acknowledged, not fully agreeing with her, still staring out the door.

"So," Xellos began, acting cheerful now that almost everything had been resolved, "if you weren't making love to her, what was Mayaki screaming yes about at two in the morning?"

The chimaera blushed deeply at the implication. "The Darisalito Mountains."

"Oh, is that what you're calling them?" Xellos teased, waving a finger in Zel's face. Lina whacked him across the back of the head, causing his antics to cease as he rubbed his head and waited for the stars to dance their way out of his vision. "Ow.."

"Xellos, learn when to shut up!" the sorceress scolded him. "Darisalito Mountains?" she inquired and tried to process the bit of information. First, what importance might the mountains have; second, where they might be; and third, why this had caused such a stir in the middle of the night. Her eyes fell on the book under Zelgaddis's arm. "That's where Elric is," she nodded, proud of herself. Zel's smile was enough confirmation for her suspicion.

"Who?" Gourry interrupted, ruining the triumphant moment. Lina raised a fist over her head, connecting with the swordsman's face.

"Mayaki and Alemo's dad, you jellyfish! Don't you pay attention to anything?!"

Alemo, leaning against the corridor wall, perked his ears up at this. "Elric," he rumbled lowly to himself.

Zelgaddis was the only one who heard him, his hearing acute enough to hear beyond Lina and Gourry's squabbling. He approached the assassin purposefully, eyes narrowed threateningly. "Don't you even try it, Alemo," he said deeply. "Don't you do it until Mayaki and I get our chance. I won't let you wreck this for either of us."

The taller, more muscular man stared down at him. "I will _do_...whatever I please."

"For Mayaki's sake, if not mine, leave him alone. Don't you see that it's the only opportunity we have? And it's your opportunity too! You could be human!"

Alemo shook his head ever so slightly. "That's not what I desire. I only want to see him dead."

"Don't you dare ruin this for us!"

"You mind your business and I'll mind mine."

The lines were drawn. Once friends, now enemies. The two men glared at each other reproachfully for a long while. It would be a race then... a race to the Darisalito mountains, and a race to find Elric Debarro.

"We'll kill you if you get in our way."

"Likewise."

Xellos, not wanting to be part of another fight that evening, slipped his way cautiously past Lina and Gourry, careful not to collide with Zel and Alemo either. "We-ell, I think I'll obey another certain human instinct," he said with a yawn. "Sleep!" Everyone stopped, stock still, and blinked at him. He strode easily to the door of his room. "Good night... what's left of it, anyway." His door swung closed after him and there was an audible flop as he collapsed into his pillow. The remaining four exchanged glances.

"He does have a point," Lina stated, releasing Gourry.

"Does he ever," Gourry agreed, heading back to his room as well. "G'night!"

"'night, Gourry," Lina called back, turning in as well.

Alemo and Zel continued to stare at one another. "We'll be leaving in the morning."

"Don't expect me to be traveling with you. I work alone."

"I used to say the same thing, and look where it got me," Zel warned playfully, "Stuck with Lina."

Alemo snorted appreciatively. "don't count on getting your cure so soon."

"I'd be a fool if I did," Zel smirked. "I've been this close a time or two, or so I thought. But, don't you plan on taking Elric out so easily. After all, _he_ is the full wyvern, not you."

"You don't need to remind me of that," he scowled.

"It might be a warning you should remember."

"I'll keep it in mind."

The two stared each other down for another minute or more, reading each other's determination, then parted at the same time, almost as if they had choreographed it. Zel retreated to his room. Alemo made for his as well, though when the chimaera was out of sight, he closed the door and continued down the hall toward the courtyard.

* * * * *

The smaller wyvern looked up as her half-brother landed beside her on the roof peak she had decided to perch on. "Akk," he greeted.

"Akk," she replied as he folded his wings in and found his balance, using his tail to counterweight himself. This island was silent except for the occasional yapping of the remaining wolves.

"Poor things," Mayaki mused. "They'll probably starve to death without Zelas feeding them."

Alemo traced her line of sight to the small pack loping its way around the island. "You think she actually fed them? Wolves usually aren't aggressive enough to kill and feed on their own kind."

Mayaki bobbed her head in assent. "I wonder how long they'll last out here? Cannibals."

"Who's to say? I suppose if they kept reproducing and eating each other, quite a few years." He followed the movement of the pack with one eye. He clacked his beak, slightly irritated. "they'll be doomed eventually, though. Every generation will have less and less resources. The pack will get smaller and smaller until they all die out. They'll slowly starve." He huffed. "Poor, stupid beasts. It's not even really their fault. What kind of person would do this?"

"Zelas," Mayaki snorted sourly. "What I gathered about her, it was right up her alley."

"Torturing wolves was up Zelas's alley?"

"She enjoyed wolves, for one thing. After all, she was the Greater Beast herself. She probably brought them here simply as playthings to be at her beck and call. Plus, you'll have to admit that a ravenous wold makes a heck of a security guard: don't need to pay them, don't need to worry about loyalty to you... unless someone could manage to get past Deep Sea with about five hundred steaks, bribery is out of the question. And then there's the pain and aggressive energy. Being Mazoku, she probably reveled in it. It may not have been as powerful as human emotions, but it would certainly have been enough to keep her strength up."

"And she was a sick, deranged Mazoku lord..." Alemo grinned.

"Yeah, that too..." she sighed, rolling her eyes at him. Silence ensued as both of them tried to think of something else to talk about. It was Mayaki that eventually brought up what they were both half-trying to avoid. "So... how did things turn out in there?"

"Oh," Alemo began, shaking his head, "they're all a bit ashamed of themselves. As they should be," he added promptly. "The littlest thing sets them off, have you noticed?"

Mayaki smiled a wyvernish smile. "Yes."

Alemo broke eye contact with her, staring out toward the horizon. "Zel will want to leave early tomorrow... er, later toady," he corrected. "You'd better go in and get some sleep," he said flatly. 

"I can see why he would. I don't blame him. I want to be fully human as soon as possible."

"Why is that?"

She cocked her head at him. "Don't you ever feel your Mazoku side puling at you? Haven't you ever given in to it, just a little? I have, and I'm afraid of it. I'm afraid that one of these days, I'll lose control completely and end up killing someone. Someone I care about." The ridges above her eyes knit together mournfully. "And it almost happened, too. I almost turned fully Mazoku, and I didn't even care."

"There are plenty of humans who are just as evil," her brother countered. "You could just as easily be evil then." 

"But I'm not!" she squawked raucously. "Deep down, I'm not evil, I know, and I want the part of me that makes me act so terribly to be gone!"

Alemo had nothing to say to this. He turned back to the horizon instead. The sky was just beginning to show false dawn. "It's getting so late it's early," he quipped at her. "You'd better go in and get some rest. Sounds like there'll be a lot of ground to cover in the morning."

She yawned, showing the fine points of her teeth. "Good point. Poor Lina, I guess we'll have to leave her precious furniture behind for the time being. She'll be so disappointed," she giggled, launching into the air to glide down into the courtyard. She hovered and looked back at Alemo, who hadn't moved to get up yet. "Aren't you coming, too?"

He shook his head, "Mn. I still have some things to think about. Go on without me."

She swiveled her head in an approximation of a shrug. "Suit yourself. See you in the morning!"

"Take care, little sister," he muttered, adding silently to himself, *and hope you don't stay out of the way, for your sake.* He watched he land and change forms, heading inside and closing the door behind her. "I really am sorry, Mayaki, but my revenge is more important than your silly dream. Maybe someday you'll come to understand that. Goodbye, little sister. Please don't make me have to kill you."

With a few beats of his great wings, he lifted off the roof peak and headed northeast, toward the continent. His spirit felt much heavier than his airborne body.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	29. Chapter 28: Next Time, I'll Take the Bus

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 28: Next Time, I'll Take the Bus

"He's gone," Zel growled flatly.

Mayaki turned away from the door she had been knocking at. The room had previously been occupied by Alemo, before his (quite literal) flight from the castle. "What?" she said, not fully comprehending.

"He's trying to beat us to Elric. Right now he's probably got a good four-hour head start on us."

Mayaki gawped and shook her head in denial. "No. I don't believe you. My brother wouldn't do that to us."

Zel's eyes never left hers. The rest of the group stared on tensely. "Open the door. See if you believe me then," he told her, giving her the uneasy feeling that he was right. He hesitated for a moment, then swung the door open. After peering inside for roughly three seconds, she slammed it again. 

"It... can't be..."

"But.. why would he leave before us?" Amelia queried, looking for all like the world had just caved in on her entire value system. "Doesn't Mister Alemo even care if you could both get to be human again?"

The chimaera snorted. "Apparently not. All he cares about is making sure Elric dies at his hands."

The diminutive princess applied some deep thought to this. "That's not very just," she decided.

"Hush, Amelia." Lina stopped her before she got any further. "So Alemo's off to the Darisalito Mountains without us. And he's got a good lead too. But," she added optimistically, "Chances are he doesn't know where the Darisalito Mountains are!"

"But we do, right Lina?" Gourry cheered, backing her up. The petite girl wilted. The mercenary looked down at her. "Lina?"

"You have no idea where we're going, do you?" Xellos prodded.

"Very perceptive, Xellos."

"We'd better get a move on, then. If Lina doesn't know where it is, it's going to take a lot of searching to find it." The sorceress blushed at Zelgaddis's unexpected compliment. He nodded at her with a grin, the turned his attention to the wyvern girl. "Mayaki, it's up to you to get us back to the mainland."

She nodded once in assent. "No problem. I can take us through the Astral Plane. WE might even gain some time on Alemo that way."

"Except," Xellos volunteered, "that any strange energy on the Astral Plane will attract Mazoku."

Mayaki gave him an odd glance. "It didn't before..."

"You were mostly Mazoku the last time you traveled that far, and you didn't have human passengers," he pointed out, holding an extended finger under her nose. "If we take the Astral Plane, we'd better hope it's a short trip."

"Why's that?" Amelia piped. Xellos fixed his eyes firmly on her.

"Because they'll think we're food."

"Llllch!" the princess grimaced, eyes wide open with fear.

Mayaki crossed her arms and thought. "Can't dilly-dally, then. I'll have to make this trip as fast as possible." 

"Right,"" Lina said sharply, taking control. "Mayaki, if you can carry three of us... can you?"

"I think so... yes..."  
"Good. Then you'll take Gourry and Zel first, then come back for me, Xellos and Amelia."

Mayaki nodded, half-sneering at the returning thought of her half-brother. "Got it. Zel, Gourry, get on." Green mist swirled around her form as it changed from human to wyvern.

"Right now?" Gourry looked stunned.

Lina began pounding on him. "No, Gourry, tomorrow! NOW! We don't have time to mess around here!"

"All right, all right! I get it! I get it!" he yelped, trying to fend off her blows. Obediently he straddled Mayaki's back as Zelgaddis climbed on in back of him.

"Skraa?" she grated, turning her head back to look at them.

"We're good," Zel confirmed, reading her expression more than understanding the wyvern language.

Without a response, she turned her eyes forward and pelted down the hallway, gaining speed for takeoff. She showed no sign of slowing or turning away from the wall that was quickly rushing up to greet them.

"Are you crazy?!" Gourry hollered. He was immediately followed by Zel's warning shout of "Mayaki!" A half-second before impact, the three of them simultaneously phased out.

Amelia and Lina let out the breaths they weren't aware they had been holding. Xellos gave them an encouraging smile. "You get used to it," he said cheerily.

* * * * *

Both Zel and Gourry flinched as they passed straight through the stone wall as if it had been slightly thick air. The tiny piece of land between the castle and shore blurred by as if it had never been under their feet at all. Mayaki extended her wings, gliding to a slightly more advantageous altitude. Sky and clouds zinged past overhead, as did the vast expanse of ocean below them. Gourry tightened his grip on Mayaki's shoulder blades, making her wince, but she kept steadily on course. He clenched his eyes shut, whimpering so lowly that, had there been any sound at all in the Astral Plane, no one would have heard him. Zel rolled his eyes at how childish the swordsman was being, even though the experience was giving him vertigo as well.

He didn't like this half-dimension-*...more like a demention,* he thought. The color was all wrong. The light slanted and bent in odd ways here; there was wind, but it made no sound as it rushed past his sharp ears. And there was something else about it that he couldn't quite pin down. Whatever it was, it set his teeth on edge. He could only guess at what Gourry was going through, with his highly developed instincts. "Are we almost there, Mayaki?" he couldn't help asking.

"Kraaa," she answered, continuing to speed over the Demon Sea without facing him. He couldn't tell if that was a yes or a no.

Another minute was all he had to wait. The shoreline approached, then shot past them. A wall of air seemed to slam into them as they re-entered the earth-plane. Mayaki scooped the air with her wings, stabilizing herself and circling down for a landing. It wasn't her best, jarring to a running stop and letting her passengers slip off backward. She shrilled what might have been a quick apology and disappeared again.

* * * * *

Not four minutes has passed when the wyvern snapped into existence in the hallway again. "Wow, that was quick!" Lina commented as she climbed on Mayaki's neck ahead of Amelia. 

"No time for chit-chat, Mayaki, go!" Xellos ordered as soon as he secured himself on her back. Hardly straining at all, she repeated her suicide run down the empty hall, once again vanishing to the Astral plane before impact.

"So this is what the Astral Plane is like," Lina mused. "Hmm.. pretty boring, if you ask me," she shrugged, not terribly impressed by the odd light or lack of matter.

Amelia turned her head to look behind them, curious to find out how far they had already gone, but what greeted her vision instead made her flinch. "Aaaa! There's something following us!" she called nervously.

"What?!" The sorceress twisted around to confirm the sight for herself. Xellos did likewise.

"Oh, great..." he groaned to himself. "Better step on it, Mayaki!"

"Eaakaakkaakk..." her reply carried back. If her speed increased at all, the change was imperceptible to her passengers. Nonetheless, the continental shore appeared on the horizon, growing by the second as the ocean flew underneath them. 

Amelia checked behind them again, eyes getting as wide as dinner plates as she reported back, "It's getting closer! It's gaining on us!" Sure enough, the creature, bobbing its snakelike head and neck, swam through the nothingness of the empty plane at an alarming speed, and on a direct course to intercept the half-wyvern and her passengers. The shore floated distantly ahead of them, taunting in its nearness, but not near enough...

Xellos turned his head enough to catch the approaching monster in his peripheral vision. It was much, much too close. "Mayaki, drop out! Now!" She bobbed her head and did as she was told, closing her eyes against the sudden burst of air that hit her as soon as she phased out of the Astral Plane. They were still above the water, but not far from shore. The more resistant air slowed her flight considerably. She could see her two previous passengers, a mile or so from the beach. Beating her slender wings as fast as she could manage, she all but willed herself forward to them, descending as low as she dared. Her wings ached. She strained to stay airborne, exhaustion pressing down on her like a lead weight. Over the sand, over solid ground. Finally.

She managed to backwing a few times before outright dropping onto the sand a few feet below. Lina, Amelia, and Xellos toppled off during the awkward, exhausted landing with startled squawks. Gourry and Zelgaddis, still a distance off, ran to meet them. They skidded to a stop on their heels as a man-or what looked like a man-appeared, floating over them.

"Aww," it said in a playfully disappointed tone. "Aren't you going to run anymore?" Mayaki's eyes widened slightly at the dark voice. She flopped her wings ineffectually, too burnt out to do more, and only managed to push her snout into the sand when she attempted to regain her feet. Her strength gone, she simply fell on her belly with a grunt, panting, trying to regain the strength to flee. 

A pair of legs walked up beside her, and their owner stroked her neck soothingly. "It's all right... just rest. I'll handle this." Her eyes sprung open at this, heavy through they were, and the closest one followed Xellos's every movement until he move out of her field of vision. Her heavy breathing prevented her from saying anything to stop him, not that it would have made a shred of sense to him. Her heart and thoughts, though, begged him not to move, not to go. "I'll be fine," he said from behind her. She was certain he was waving in that callous way of his, too. "Trust me." She would have watched him, if she'd had the strength to turn her head; as it was, all she could do was listen and hope for the best. Her exhausted stomach flip-flopped. *..going to vomit..* she thought.

* * * * *

The Mazoku executed a graceful backflip as he floated down to the shore, letting the waves splash against his boots. "Well, what have we here?" An exhausted wyvern and a handful of humans. How interesting."

"Who are you and what do you want?" Gourry demanded, keeping the Sword of Light at the ready.

The visitor turned his nose skyward with a slight chortle. "Who I am is really of no consequence to you. As to what I want... well, your living essences will do nicely for a start..."

"Hello, Tamric... I wish I could say it's nice to see you again," the approaching priest greeted, less than cordially. The man-monster snapped to attention. "Beastmaster Xellos!"

"Glad to see you remember me," the priest-general nodded.

Tamric, after his initial reaction, dropped his posture and regarded Xellos coolly. "Word has it that Greater Beast Zelas has been destroyed. How can you still be alive?"

"Quite simple, really. Master Zelas and I had... a falling out, just before her death."

"You left her service? After all the power she endowed you with? How could you be such a fool? It's really not like you at all."

"It wasn't quite like that... it was more like... oh, how do the humans explain it... I was laid off."

The monster nodded. "Is that so?" he pondered. "You've lost your staff as well, I see."

"Destroyed, I'm afraid." He didn't lie; he did regret the loss of the weapon, in a rosy-hued reminiscence, especially in this situation, when he could have used it...

Tamric shifted his gaze. "Why, I wonder, Beastmaster, why would you do something so completely incipient?" Xellos scowled slightly at him. "What master are you serving now?"

"No master but myself, dear Tamric," Xellos smirked, making the 'dear' sound like a personal insult. 

The Mazoku wasn't in a playing mood anymore. "Do you take me for an idiot?" he snapped.

Xellos, despite the instinctive desire to flee, stood his ground and grinned. It was a grin he had mastered over his thousand years as a Mazoku, a grin that could catch any enemy off-guard. Something in is made Tamric flinch. That grin was a well-sharpened weapon when it came down to it. "Well, since you asked..."

"Enough!" The man-thing drew his arm across his chest, unleashing a fierce wind, strong enough to knock everyone off their feet. Xellos was thrown to one knee. He raised an arm to his face, warding off stinging particles of sand.

Tamric hadn't practiced a hearty grin for centuries as Xellos had, but the smile his face barely contained was nothing to be ashamed of in comparison. "Ahh, I understand now. You've lost your powers. I must say, all that bluffing does you credit, Xellos, but you'll never have a chance to do any more of it." He smirked at his easy triumph.

Then he balked.

Xellos grinned calmly and evenly as he rose back to his feet. "Tamric, you've always been a fool. You think I've lost all my power? Perhaps, perhaps I have. But I am still more powerful than you. Or do you need a demonstration of the power I have?"

The rest of the group (except for Mayaki, who had passed out from fright and exhaustion) clustered together uneasily.

"Is he bluffing" Lina whispered.

"If it's a bluff, it's a good one," Zel whispered in reply.

Gourry nodded in amazed agreement. "But.. didn't Xellos tell us he lost all his power?"

Lina's brow furrowed in either irritation or thought, possibly both. "I wouldn't put anything past Xellos," she said, "especially when it comes to guarding a secret from us."

"From anyone," Amelia added.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 

BTW: Sometimes the chapters end rather abruptly. That's because I'm more or less segmenting one gigantic story I've had stored up for two years. ;)


	30. Chapter 29: Ever the Trickster

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 29: Ever the Trickster...

"You're bluffing." Tamric reached his decision confidently, and spoke in a manner that excluded any other possibility as if they were impossible from the get-go.

Xellos feigned nervousness. "Oh dear. Am I bluffing, or am I only pretending to bluff?"

"Don't try to fool me with your twisted words, Beastmaster. You don't have your staff, you don't have Master Zelas backing you-You have no power at all! The mighty most certainly have fallen..." In an instant, the human façade had dissolved and in its place appeared the towering snake-headed creature that had followed them out of the Astral plane. "I have been waiting a millenium for a chance like this, Xellos... the chance to destroy you and your insolence!"

Xellos sighed. "My, my... and we were getting along so nicely just then, Tamric. But, you've forced my hand..." He waved at the beast flippantly even as he began making gestures in the air and chanting lowly. 

"Keep up the ruse, if you insist on it, Xellos. It won't save your worthless hide."

The priest-general smirked. "Oh, won't it? Do say hello to Master Zelas when you reach the other side, Tamric. It's been a pleasant chat." He opened his hands, revealing a brilliant blue light.

"What in th- " the Mazoku was able to get out.

"Elmekia Lance." The light surged forth from Xellos's hands, sizzling through the air as it cut through the monster's body, destroying it in both physical and astral planes. Tamric wailed briefly and vanished as if he'd never existed at all.

The others blinked, astonished. "Xellos cast an Elmekia Lance?" Lina gasped.

"And a very high-power one at that," the chimaera added.

"But how is that possible? I thought Mister Xellos lost all his powers when Zelas took all that dark energy out of him," Amelia queried.

The red-haired sorceress nodded. "That's what I thought too... but what's more, that was Shamanist magic he was using. Hey, Xellos!" she shouted. "How did you manage _that_, Mister Completely Defenseless?"

Xellos scratched his head as he gazed at the spot Tamric had previously occupied. Then he shrugged and wandered back to the group. "I have no idea," he said and smirked. 

Lina all but fell over. "Huh? Wha??" Her eyes turned from saucers to dinner plates. After the initial surprise, though, she fell back on familiar ground, which for Lina was to get angry at what she didn't understand. "You mean you just risked all our lives on something you didn't even know would work?!"

The priest looked insulted. "_You_ do it all the time."

"Yes, but I at least know when my magic will work!"

"Well, it worked, so why complain?"

The girl clutched at her head in frustration. "Ohhhh! But... but you.... Oh, nevermind..." she whimpered and walked off.

The rest of the group was silent as they watched her stalk off. Zelgaddis finally turned back to Xellos. "You really didn't know what you were doing?"

Xellos shrugged, as if this was no big deal. "Well, yeah."

"Then where did that spell come from?"

"Yes.. I haven't even seen Miss Lina cast a Shamanist spell _that_ powerful..." Amelia added, puzzled.

The priest thought deeply with his chin held in his hand. "I'm not entirely sure," he said at length. "It's like I've known the spell all along, but it was really deep down... like a memory I didn't know I had."

Gourry nodded. "I understand perfectly." The other two turned amazed glances at him, but were interrupted by Xellos's continued train of thought. 

"It's like I don't really remember anything about myself... like Zelas blocked it from my memory, or something... And now that she's out of the picture, things are starting to resurface. But slowly. As if they have to be triggered by something."

"Exactly," the blonde swordsman confirmed. 

Xellos gave him an obscure glance. "Dear gods, please don't let me turn out like that..." he mumbled to himself.

Zelgaddis sighed and steered the priest up the beach toward the spot where Lina and Mayaki were already splayed out. "We should probably sit and discuss this with everyone," he sighed. "We obviously aren't going any further tonight."

"Right," Amelia affirmed.

"You're sure about that, Zelgaddis?" Xellos teased, sounding more like his normal self. "Not like you to want to stop for any reason."

Zel scowled back. "Well, it's apparent that Mayaki needs the rest, even if the rest of us don't. There's no way she could travel efficiently, and we can't exactly carry her the whole way. Besides, Alemo is probably still in the middle of the ocean. He'll have a lot of catching up to do as it is." He knelt and sat easily on the warm, salt-smelling sand, stretching his legs out and leaning back to relax, manners be damned. 

Xellos eyes him strangely. "You'd better me careful, Zel. That stone exterior of yours is going to start flaking off if you get much softer."

The chimaera leaned up on one elbow looking shocked. He stared open-eyed at the priest for a second, then began laughing. It wasn't a ringing laughter; low, like the rustling of leaves, but pure and honest. He laughed because on some level, he knew that what Xellos had said was true. He knew that Xellos occasionally obscured the truth, but he never lied. And if it meant his hard heart was getting softer, he didn't mind it. It caught everyone's attention. Even the exhausted wyvern-girl raised her head, narrowing her eyes in a lizard-like smile.

Amelia, lying on her stomach and propping herself up on her elbows, smiled as she watched him. "Mmm," she sighed, "Mister Zelgaddis has such a nice laugh, doesn't he, Miss Lina?"

"Yeah," the sorceress grinned back. "I guess he does. We sure don't get to hear it often enough, though. Maybe he's finally taking my advice to lighten up! Hey, Zel!" She tossed a beach stone at him, hitting him in the back of the head.

He whirled around and glared at her, rubbing the back of his head. It occurred to Lina that the stone had not been her smartest move. She gulped. Zel smirked evilly at her. "NO!" she shouted, throwing her hands out in front of her in a warding-off gesture.

The chimaera's smile widened. "Wake Burs," he cast. A baseball-sized bubble of water appeared over Lina's head. "NO!!!" she shrieked, throwing her arms up above her head as the bubble popped and flooded her with much more water than could be contained in a sphere that size. Lina sputtered and dropped her arms as she was soaked through. 

She seemed frozen in place, wearing the same expression as when the water had hit her. When she didn't move after a few seconds of silence, Gourry got concerned, and reached over to shake her out of it. "Lina..."

Amelia started laughing at her. "Miss Lina, you look hilarious!" she managed before she broke down completely in a fit of giggles.

Her jaw finally hinged shut and her eyes lost their plate-like appearance. Her hair hung down over her face in thick wet red strands. She glared at Zelgaddis with all the ferocity of a mad cat (which is a lot, in case you've never been glared at by a cat). "Yoooouuuuu..." she growled furiously, eyes flashing fire.

Zelgaddis and Xellos's eyes shot open. They both dodged aside as a fireball landed between them and caused a substantial explosion.

* * * * *

Alemo breathed heavily, at the end of his energy. His wings flapped meaninglessly, refusing to hold him in the air another second. He barely had the use of them to control his descent into the sea, during which he wondered what it truly felt like to drown. He fell in and awkward somersault, the water swallowing up his red form in a circle of foam. A few seconds later, he bobbed back to the surface, letting his extended wings support him on the water instead of the air now. He kicked futilely as a wave crashed over him, pushing him opposite the direction he wanted to go. It occurred to him that wyverns were not made for water travel, and that he made a lousy duck. He panted and stopped kicking. *I don't know why I even bothered... I don't have the energy to keep this up all night. I'll have to sleep sometime, and then I'll probably just slip under...* He let himself float and tried to rest his head on the waves, snorting once as a larger swell broke over him, filling his snout with stinging saltwater. *I'm so tired...* he thought *Wonder what it's like to die?* He chuckled at the irony. *All the people I've killed in my life, and I still don't know what death is like.* 

Absorbed as he was in these bleak thoughts, he didn't notice the slow spiral he was moving in, and didn't notice the whirlpool he was in until he was dumped into its core. The sudden plunge underwater caught him off guard, and he spluttered and coughed as he instinctually sought the surface. Salt stung his eyes as he tried to orient himself in the dizzily spinning world he found himself in, but he didn't regain his equilibrium for several moments after he had been dropped soggily onto the marble floor of the underwater palace.

"Oh, what did I catch this time?" Deep Sea scrutinized him carefully. "You're not a shipful of sailors," she decided finally and sighed. "There sure aren't many sailors in these parts anymore..."

"Wraa-eck..." Alemo coughed, temporarily forgetting he was still in wyvern form.

"Oh, I know it's not your fault." She moped for a moment before springing to her toes again. "I know you! You're my dear brave knight, aren't you?" Using her magic, she picked him up and upended him, at the same time turning him back to his human shape. He noticed how long his hair had gotten as it flopped away from his face, then back into it as she turned him over again. "Yes, it's you all right," she confirmed, whirling triumphantly across the smooth floor. 

Alemo stared blearily at her for a second before turning on his charm. He hoped she would still buy it, for as tired as he sounded. "Of...course I would want to come back to you, my dear Tsarina Dolphin- "

"No, no... it Pharaoh Deep Sea. Or didn't I tell you that? Hm.. must've slipped my mind."

"... er, naturally. Pharaoh Deep Sea. It's surely your loveliness that keeps drawing me back to you." He stood and snatched up her hand, kissing it gallantly. 

She batted her eyelids at him in a confused manner. "I thought it was my whirlpool."

"Well, er, yes.. and that..."

Deep Sea brightened. "That's what it's for, you see. It'll pull down anything that gets within a hundred leagues of it! I caught a whole ship with it once, with most of the sailors still intact, too!"

"I seem to recall you saying that..."

"SILENCE!" the Mazoku suddenly commanded. "How dare you insult me so, sir! Such insolence! Guards!"

Alemo put a hand to the hilt of his sword, panicking at the potentially deadly wrath of the Mazoku lord. 

"GUARDS!" the silver-haired woman demanded again, with a slight note of impatience. Alemo's ears eventually heard something dragging itself down one of the insanely long corridors in their general direction. The intent look on Deep Sea's face never faded during the ten minutes it took for the guards to schlump their way to their mistress. Their smell preceded them by at least six yards. The half-wyvern fought to keep from gagging. The sailor zombies had obviously not held up well since Deep Sea had caught them. The one on the left smelled of gangrene and had to constantly pick up and arm that refused to stay in its socket. The face of the other had mostly fallen off, but it still owned the one eye between the two decomposing skulls, even if it didn't ever seem to focus on any particular point, more or less rolling around sightlessly from the motion of the rest of the body. A few ribs protruded where the muscle had dropped away. Blue mould covered the remaining bits of flesh on both corpses.

Deep Sea turned her eyes back to Alemo to observe his reaction and wilted. "They're really much less impressive than they used to be..." she apologized. 

Alemo waved a hand at her. "Don't be silly... their scent is really still overpowering." The Mazoku glared at him. "It's quite... striking," he explained, trying to block his nose by not breathing. He was beginning to regret not having lungs full of seawater. 

"GUARDS!" the Pharaoh demanded, jabbing a finger in the air. The zombies did their best to snap to attention. The left one picked up his arm as it fell again. Deep Sea dropped her hand and asked sweetly, "Be dears and go get my crumpets out of the oven, would you?"

"Still with the crumpets..." Alemo muttered.

The Pharaoh gave him a nod. "They're still too salty...I just can't seem to get them right. Oh!" she suddenly remembered in a moment of half-sanity, "What did your sister have to say about that?"

Inside, the assassin balked, though he steeled himself to keep a calm and collected front in front of the Mazoku. How much would she buy from him? "Er..." he began, "she says to add less salt to the batter."

"Add less salt?! ADD LESS _SALT?!_" the diminutive queen shouted up at him, almost seeming to grow taller. Her eyes burned into his very soul, and a shiver ran over his skin. He tried not to look nervous, but began to break a sweat under her intense stare. With all the power of a Mazoku lord at her beck and call, insane or no, she could squash him like a squid any time she chose. "She's a genius!" she chirped ecstatically, clapping her hands in delight. Alemo's composure dropped a notch. 

*Oh, for Pete's sake...* he grumbled in his mind.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Special thanks to my chat-niece/beta-reader Dubble, who puts up with both my typos and idiosyncrasies!

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: 


	31. Chapter 30: Clash of the Titans

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 30: Clash of the Titans

Lina and Zelgaddis debated over the troupe's best course of action as they finished off the biscuits Mayaki had made for breakfast ahead of time. It was a good thing she'd had the foresight to do so-she'd overslept after her exhaustion, even after three Recovery spells from Lina and Amelia. Despite their hurry to get to a city with a decent library, the others had let her sleep in. It had irritated her, but the group had decided unanimously (while she was asleep) that catching up on rest and regaining strength was better for the wyvern-girl than forcing an early start on her.

Besides which, they weren't sure where they were heading next. Lina was more than vocal about the matter. At the moment, she was shouting about Zelgaddis's logical but seemingly random route from township to township. Amelia stood by, validating points for both sides. Gourry, meanwhile, had headed back to the seashore to see if he could wrangle up some fish for lunch. Mayaki sighed, all but aching for something to do while the sorceress and chimaera duked it out.

She stopped paying attention to them when Xellos sat beside her, leaning his back on the same tree. "Feeling better now?" he asked genuinely. Most of his expressions had come to bear more sincerity since his re-transformation. Mayaki wondered if it should have concerned her.

Nonetheless, she smiled wanly and nodded. "Much. How about you? How's the memory?"

It was the one thing Xellos had been thinking about since the previous day. Not only thinking: worrying. He hadn't been able to sleep he was so focussed on his lack of memories. Without looking at her, he answered. "It feels like working a jigsaw puzzle without knowing what the picture is of. All the pieces are there, but some of them are wrong-side-up, one doesn't fit with the rest, and when they do seem to fit, they don't make much sense."

"Is there anything you do remember?"

The priest closed his eyes and, after a moment of thought, shook his head. "Except for the last hundred years or so, just little flashes. A face with no name, a strawberry daiquiri on the beach, a woman running past a well..." He paused. The silence began to bear down on both of them. "Carnage," he added finally. "Lots and lots of carnage that I was probably the cause of. That's all I really remember."

"But it's coming back in bits, isn't it? Like last night?"

"That was almost more of an instinct than a memory," he snorted. "We're all just lucky that particular spell popped up at that moment."

The wyvern sighed sympathetically, setting her hand lightly on his. "It'll come back to you eventually."

He surprised her by yanking his hand away violently. "You think I want to remember?" He stood, turning away from the sunlight that filtered through the sparse trees.

Mayaki remained where she was, arms held up tentatively, not certain if she wanted to comfort him or let him go. "Xellos," she breathed softly. She couldn't see his eyes from where she sat, but she could see the dark shadow his hair cast on his face.

"I have done many evil things in my life, little bird, for which I can never atone." His voice conveyed his depression and anger, echoing the darkness that shielded his face from her. "The humans are right to call us the Monster Race."

Mayaki, not being able to think of anything comforting to say, remained silent, standing up behind him. "You're not one of them anymore," she said, at length.

By way of changing the subject, he looked across the clearing to the rest of the group as Zel rolled up his map and Gourry rejoined them with a definite lack of fish. Lina teased him good-naturedly about not being as good of an angler as her. "Looks like Lina's decided which way to go," he muttered, stalking away from her. "We'd best get ready to go."

She watched him as he left, feeling a helplessness at her lack of a way to console him. Perhaps he needed time to himself just now.

* * * * *

"No. I absolutely refuse. I am not taking another step in that direction." The journey had come to a standstill as soon as he learned of their destination.

"Come on, Xellos, please?" Lina goaded.

"Absolutely not!" he resisted fervently, crossing his arms.

"We need the information from her!" the sorceress insisted.

Amelia tried leading the priest along by the wrists. "Besides, maybe Miss Filia will be glad to see you. Maybe she'll like you better as a human."

"Are you kidding me?" he yelped as he was dragged along on his heels. "Look, I'll tell you exactly what will happen when she sees me: First, she'll go totally pale, then she'll glare at me and growl, 'Xellos! You namagomi!' Then out comes the mace, and she bashes me into the next country with it."

Mayaki merely watched this spectacle, then turned to the never-reacting Zelgaddis. "Old enemy of his?"

"Worse," he told her. "Old girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Xellos protested as Lina and Amelia fought him down the road. "She never was! We don't even like each other!"

"Yeah, right, Xellos," Lina teased. "The way you two fought, we thought you'd end up in bed together!"

The former-Mazoku blushed. "Lina... you're not helping the situation any..."

He eventually stopped struggling and let the girls drag him to his fate.

* * * * *

An hour later, the group reached the building that doubled as the golden dragon's home and pottery shop.

Lina examined a large glazed jar, tapped it a couple of times, then sighed and shrugged. "I don't get it. How could something so simple make Filia so happy?"

"Miss Lina!" Amelia scolded, waving a finger in the older girl's face. "Don't discredit someone else's pleasure! Miss Filia loves her work!"

"Yeah, yeah, all right..." the sorceress brushed her off with a slight grin. "Hellooo, is anyone here?" she called, walking through the rows of pots.

Startled, skittish footfalls sounded from a back room, followed by the appearance of a small fox face peeking around the doorframe. "AAACK!" it said. "Lina Inverse!"

Lina blinked a couple of times, then smirked broadly. "My reputation precedes me! How are you, Jillas?"

The fox-man stepped out cautiously. "Ohh, life's been good to me, Boss. Here, what with the Boss and Boss Gravos and the baby. And," he added decisively, "it's a lot safer here than out roamin' all the time. A manbeast can get hurt out there!" he clutched one of his hand-muskets delicately with both paws, like a favorite toy. "Boss and Boss Gravos are out. They're taking the babby out for a walk."

"Oh, that's too bad... I was hoping to catch Filia here. Were they going to be gone long?"

"No, Boss. Not long, Boss. Back any minute, I'd think." He trotted into the part of the building that served as a house. "Boss'll insist you stay for a cappatae, so I'll just go put the kettle on."

"Thanks, Jillas. We'll just wait outside. Where we can't break anything."

Jillas poke his head out again with a beaming smile. "Right, Boss!"

The travelers filed back out of the shop. The six of them unconsciously broke into three couples: Lina and Gourry, Amelia and Zelgaddis, Xellos and Mayaki. Xellos noted this to himself, smiling partly out of amusement, partly out of habit. Lina and Gourry, well, they seemed destined to be together. It was only a matter of time before they admitted it. Amelia and Zelgaddis, ever the tragic love story, but if and when Zel got his cure, their relationship was a sure thing as well. Since the battle at Wolfpack Island, Zelgaddis had seemed to open up more to the princess, his smile showing up more and more often due to his renewed hope. Amelia delighted in seeing him in such high spirits, and the petite justice warrior was so overflowing with positive emotion that, Xellos thought, had he still been a Mazoku, she probably would have killed him.

That left one couple he hadn't thought about. The one that made him smile the most, a sincere smile he shared with Mayaki as she entwined her arm with his and linked fingers. She was a good distraction from his earlier pensiveness. He managed to hold it at the back of his mind for the time being. 

She was glad to see him being more or less his normal self again. "I think Lina and the others have all the bases covered here... d'you want to take a little walk?"

His grin widened further. "I would, at that. But," he winked, the tricksterish side of his personality coming to the forefront, "you have to catch me first!" With a deftness belying his human form, he spun away from the wyvern girl, managed to give her a graceful, if flirtatious, bow, then danced around the corner. 

"Why you...!" she yelped, giving in to his game. "Xellos!" she shrieked after him.

He stalled as he reached the back of the building, having got a head start on her, waiting for her to spot him before dashing around the corner ...

...where he nearly slammed into an oncoming baby carriage. The priest flailed his arms wildly, trying to regain his lost balance. The woman pushing the pram was not impressed. In fact, the look on her face was downright irate. The ogre next to her blinked in semi-recognition of him. Xellos looked away from him to meet the woman's face and flinched. "F...filia! ...er..."

The blonde dragon priestess before him glared threateningly, one eyebrow twitching beyond her control. "Namagomi!" she growled, pulling her mace out from beneath her petticoats. 

Xellos held his hand up in front of him, attempting to calm the golden dragon enough to be civil, meanwhile backing away from her. "Eh... how nice to see you again, Filia. You're looking well... how is Val doing?"

* * * * *

Mayaki had almost caught up when she caught sight of Xellos backing away from something. He looked as if he was ready to break into a run at any second. Mayaki wondered if they were under another attack, and that's when she saw the woman with the mace. 

"Oh no... Xellos!"

Filia didn't seem to be in the mood for small talk. "Gravos, take Val into the house. What are you doing here, namagomi?!" she snarled.

* * * * *

"Now, now, Filia... that's not very ladylike..." The priest clapped his hands over his mouth, swallowing hard as if he was trying to pull the words back inside himself. The taunt had just slipped out... he had been so used to teasing her when he'd been Mazoku (and virtually indestructible), that for a second he had forgotten his new, human status.

So he was fully expecting to die when the woman shrieked and raised the spiked ball over her head to smite him. He flinched again and ducked, eyes snapping closed and remaining so out of pure instinct. He heard the heavy mace as it sang through the air in a powerful downward arc. He heard Mayaki's panicked yelp of "No!" There was a dull smack, then, nothing.

The priest's eyes sprang open of their own volition. Death and oblivion had obviously not come for him, but the scene that greeted him left him stunned. Before him stood Filia, in a silent state of shock and amazement, her mace stopped mid-swing...by Mayaki. The wyvern-girl had stepped in front of him at the last second and caught the full impact of Filia's blow in one hand. The dust around her feet was just starting to settle from where the little wyvern had been forced back three inches.

Xellos stared at Mayaki. She turned her head and met his eyes with a look of concern. The priest blacked out, hitting the ground with a muffled thump.

"Xellos?!" Mayaki squeaked, dropping the mace and crouching to attend her boyfriend.

Filia maintained her shocked stillness. "He fainted..." She shook herself out of it, resuming her fury. "Okay, who are you? How did you do that? And how do you know Xellos?"

Mayaki all but snarled at her. "Can't you just wait until I wake him up?" She continued fanning the former Mazoku's face with her hand. "My name is Mayaki."

"Mayaki! Xellos! What's going-oh, hey Filia!" Lina greeted as she and the rest of the group jogged up. "What happened here? We heard the yelling and came running. What happened to Xellos?"

Amelia panicked. "Oh, no! Miss Filia, you didn't hit him with the mace, did you?!"

Filia reverted to her previous stunned expression. "No...almost. He fainted just after your friend..." She paused as rage fought confusion for dominance within her mind. "...wait a second, how did you do that anyway?" she snapped at Mayaki accusationally.

"I'm..."

Lina distracted the wyvern with a series of choking, hacking sounds. "Mayakiiii..." she sang warningly, following this up with a number of cutting hand gestures mixed with a couple indicating strangulation.

Mayaki mouthed back, *Wha...?*

Xellos picked that opportune moment to resume consciousness. He groaned, sitting up and shielding his eyes from the cornea-searing daylight. 

They wyvern girl couldn't have sounded more thrilled. "Xellos!"

"Nnnngghh... what just happened?"

"I just saved you-"

Filia tapped a foot impatiently. "Still waiting for an answer here..."

Mayaki made a face at her and continued, "...from this crazy-woman..."

"Crazy woman!? Look, who are you to be calling _me_ crazy, you who hangs around with this Mazoku garbage?!"

The chef's eyes began to take on a fiery glow. "Mazoku...garbage?" she repeated slowly.

Zelgaddis began herding the rest of the bystanders away. "We might want to get a reasonable distance away. _Very_ soon." 

"Mayaki, temper..." Lina tried. The wyvern wasn't paying attention, though.

"Mazoku garbage..." she mused, stewing. "Let me tell you about Mazoku garbage, _Miss_."

"Ohh.. here she goes..." Xellos murmured.

They wyvern continued, unabashed. "I have been considered Mazoku garbage for most of my life just as Xellos had for his. I have been persecuted and all but hunted down and killed for being what I am, something I had no say in. Persecuted by people like YOU, who lash out at what they don't fully understand."

"Are you calling me prejudiced?" Filia gasped at her.

Mayaki snorted. "...says the woman who tried to clobber an unarmed man with a mace... You're damned right, I am!"

"But this is Xellos!"

"Yes, it is!"

"That low-down, slimy namagomi took every chance he got to double-cross us, use us, or just downright irritate me personally!"

"You could have killed him!"

"Mazoku don't die... their physical bodies are inconsequential."

The wyvern twitched. "Well, Miss Know-It-All, I can tell you're a little out of the loop as far as current events go.," she chuckled mockingly. "Let me fill you in. I met Xellos a few months ago. Generally, I figured him for the annoying little jerk he was-and obviously I'm not alone in that opinion. But then something happened between us... some odd sort of understanding that bonded us together. The others here though he was being a bad influence on me, irritating little runt that he is, but at the same time maybe-just maybe-I was being a good influence on him, too. Because, you see, Xellos stood up against his Master when she ordered him to kill me."

"Xellos??"

"He saved my life. There was just enough good in him -just enough love-to make him do it. And, for that little blip of humanity, Zelas stripped him of his power... leaving him human."

"Whaat??"

Mayaki turned her eyes on him lovingly. "It was the single greatest sacrifice I've ever seen anyone make in my lifetime. I doubt I'll live to see its equal." She clenched her eyes and fists. Her voice became tinged with bitterness. "But at the same time, I am so jealous of him, I could die. I know Zelgaddis feels the same way... us half-monsters, longing to be fully human, we who deserve it so much more... we have to watch as he gets his humanity restored to him in seconds-no matter how painful during or afterwards, we're still jealous-while we continue to search for the way, as outcasts." She softened. "But I love him, too. I mean, he's still an annoying little jerk some of the time, but you kind of get attached to it after a while." She glanced over her shoulder at her other friends. "Right, guys?"

The motionless group suddenly came to life. Amelia scuffed a boot in the dust. Zelgaddis pondered a certain interesting cloud. Gourry found a bird to follow across the sky, while Lina found a spot on her leggings that needed sudden scrubbing. Their choir of mutters generally amounted to, "Yeah, well... I guess... maybe.. I suppose... he isn't too bad..."

Mayaki rolled her eyes and turned her gaze back to the bewildered Xellos. "It's one of my more endearing qualities," he grinned, winking.

Filia was silent, her eyes filled with tears, looking like she could break down bawling at any second. "That's... so beautiful!" she sniffled.

"Okay, Filia, that's enough..." Lina proclaimed, shoving the dragon priestess toward the rear door. "Come on, now... Jillas has some nice tea made for us inside..."

* * * * *

Always a paragon of good manners, Filia invited the motley group to stay overnight as her guests (though it was against her better judgement). Nevertheless, she remained wary of Xellos and his half-Mazoku girlfriend. The strange girl unnerved her, but after Mayaki's grand lecture, she didn't dare make comment about it. 

"So," she began, sipping her tea delicately, "what brings you all here?"

Lina, being the boldest, was first to broach the uncomfortable subject. "Actually, we're looking for some information... namely, directions to the Darisalito mountains. Ever heard of them?"

The golden dragon thought, raising a curled finger to her chin. Her expression showed confusion and disapproval. "I've heard _of_ them," she said at last. "But their location has been a mystery to the Dragon Race for a millenium or more." She paused. "Why would you want to go to such a dreadful place anyway? It's supposed to be inhabited by _wyverns_." She spat the word with such acid that Mayaki nearly jumped at her, but Xellos pulled her down at the last second.

"Three's one wyvern in particular that we need to talk with," Zelgaddis explained. "With their shapeshifting abilities, I'm hoping they can undo all the damage Rezo did when he changed me into a chimaera."

"But... wyverns are so terrible! They're nasty and atrocious and have bad manners, and I've heard that they smell bad too! They would probably eat you as soon as look at you!" the dragon priestess gaped. "What could you possibly do to make them listen?"

Mayaki made her presence known by clearing her throat. "The man... the _wyvern_ we're looking for, goes by the name of Elric DeBarro. He's my father."

The dragon-priestess went pale. "Your FATHER??!" she exploded. "You mean to tell me _you're_ a wyvern?!" The scene seemed to freeze for that instant. Jillas stopped his delivery of a plate of cookies mid-step, eyes glued on Filia-Boss. Gravos, the ogre, who had been entertaining Val by bouncing him on his knee, paused as well, waiting for the whole of Filia's wrath to come down. Even the baby watched the intent, enraged look on his adoptive-mother's face.

"Half," Mayaki replied, as calmly as she could manage. The strain in her voice showed, and for good reason-she was firstly trying not to aggravate the situation by starting another verbal battle with the golden dragon, and secondly, she was striving to keep her Mazoku side from soaking up the negative emotions Filia offered in mass. The dark power called to her with such deadly appeal-the increase in strength and speed-but the little wyvern knew she had to resist or lose her humanity. One bit, and she'd be a power addict once again, and who knew how far she would go this time?

Filia tensed visibly at the answer. Her hands curled into fists. She stomped a foot against the floorboards. Her long gold tail with its decorative pink bow popped out from beneath her skirts. She ground her teeth as she tried to decide who to yell at first-they wyvern, for being there; Lina, for bringing such a hideous thing into her presence; or Xellos for... well, for being namagomi-when the events of the war with Dark Star flitted through her memory. Her unleashed rant died. *I should know from experience not to judge people for what they are. My people lost their lives because they could not understand that.* Her hands remained clenched, the anger having faded, but not dispersed. 

"Forgive me," she said, biting back the remaining rage. "I should know better than to treat you badly for being what you are, even if you are Wyverzoku. It's just a little too much for me to take in all at once like this."

Mayaki looked away with a sigh. "Do you have a kitchen here?"

Filia lifted her chin toward a doorway leading from her sitting room. "On the right."

The wyvern girl nodded as she rose. "I should get started on dinner."

All present watched in silence as she exited the room morosely, hardly sparing a glance to the fox-man as he continued in to serve the guests.

Filia nodded a thanks to him absently, taking a cookie, but then started to her feet. "No, wait! You all are my guests! _I_ should be the one fixing supper! Ohh, I-"

Lina tugged her back by her skirt. "Mn-nn," she advised, shaking her head. "It's better for her if you just let her go."

The dragon halted, but continued to stare after the wyvern. No frustration now, but curiosity and a note of pity and one of shame in her voice. "Oh..."

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: Beedoo!'s Place (look me up, I'm the only one with a !)

Okay, well, here's where stuff's going to get a little messier. My Beta Reader is a little busy (who isn't?), and I generally miss a lot of my own typos... so please excuse them!

I also apologize for this update taking so freakin' long! College, the Great Feaster of Online Souls, has had me pinned down under one foot and... well, you know how that is! Two words: Odor Eaters. Anyway, I'll try to be more punctual in my updates. ;)

B!


	32. Chapter 31: Well, Duuuuuuuh!

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 31: Well, Duuuuuuuh!

He absently swirled his tea with a finger and tried to enjoy yet another over-salted crumpet. It turned out that they were the only thing Deep Sea had ever learned to make. One of her previous captives had taught her the recipe; and on another occasion, she managed to trap a ship carrying roughly twelve tons of flour. Alemo, supervising the Mazoku's technique, noted that when the recipe called for two cups of water, Deep Sea would create a stable opening in the glasslike wall and dip the required amount directly from the ocean. He would have mentioned the problem with this, if he'd had the heart to. For a Dark Lord who could create things at will, she was extremely proud of her single culinary achievement. She was already mad; he couldn't bear to damage her ego any further.

The Mazoku seemed fairly tractable at the moment, and almost sane. She sat across from him at a small café-bistro table. He had humored her for three days; now it was time to broach the subject of leaving before the abundance of salt mummified him alive. "Dolphin-Rah," he asked charmingly, "is it possible, my dear, that you could send me back up to the surface?"

She fixed him with a pouting look. "It's not as nice on the surface as it is down here. Why, there are no fish up there at all!"

"Dolphin-Rah, captivating hostess as you are, I need to return to my mission."

"Mission, brave Knight?"

"Yes, Dolphin."

"Rah."

"Dolphin-_Rah_," he corrected. "My sister is on her way to the Darisalito Mountains to warn my _father_" -he spat the word venomously-"that I'm coming to kill him."

A sympathetic look graced Deep Sea's insane face. "Oh, that's terrible! How dare they impede you, dear Knight!" She patted his hand. For an evil overlord, she could also be quite pleasant, Alemo mused.

"Do you know of the Darisalito Mountains, Dolphin-Rah?"

The tiny woman blinked at him, the burst into peals of laughter. "Oh, my dear brave Knight, you are funny! What would I know about mountains?" Alemo's heart dropped down amid his intestines. The Mazoku's expression changed from mirth to abject sorrow. "Why does everyone always want to leave meeeeee?" she wailed, the walls of her palace roiling as if the underwater structure would collapse in on itself any second.

Alemo swayed a bit, wary, but used to her sudden outbursts. She enjoyed his company too much to harm him. He hoped that was the case, anyway. "Now, Dolphin, you know I can't stay here, and it'll be impossible to track my father if Mayaki and her allies find him first."

"RAH!" she screamed at him sulkily. 

He tried another approach. "There's a certain former-Mazoku enemy of yours, darling, traveling with them."

"Who?"

"I think you know."

"No. Who?

"The, um... the one who drove you insane, so you said..."

"Who??"

"Xellos."

"AAAAAA!!!" the Mazoku shrieked. Unwitting wish were slammed against the enclosure, driven by the churning waters Deep Sea controlled.

The assassin calmly stepped behind her and muffled her with a hand until the swirling ocean currents calmed. "I can take care of him for you, you know. Now that Beastmaster Zelas has been destroyed, he's powerless. He'll be no trouble at all."

Deep Sea's mouth closed. Alemo removed his hand. "Would you really?" her cyan eyes glittered malevolently.

"Quite gladly. If you'll get me to shore, that is..."

She bounced on her toes. "Of course! Wait a moment, I'll give you something. GUARDS!" She waited a moment. "Oh, nevermind, I'll do it myself." Out of thin air, she produced a glass cruet. Then she wandered over to the wall and stuck her hand through an opening she created. A strange-looking creature obediently scudded over to her, allowing itself to be grabbed in her waiting hand. Its tentacles flopped uselessly as the rest of its body seemed to swell up. The Mazoku gave the creature a violent squeeze, causing it to loose a stream of black, sticky and foul-smelling ooze. She filled to bottle with it, kissed the sea beast lovingly and released it back through the opening. "Puff-squid oil is the most deadly substance in my whole realm," she declared, sounding less like her insane self and more like a Mazoku Lord-evil from stem to stern. "When ingested, it causes vomiting, convulsions, nerve spasms, paralysis, catharsis... all amounting to a painful and slow death." Her eyes gleamed. Alemo felt nailed to the spot as she stoppered the cruet and held it out to him. "This ought to slow your friends down." 

He accepted the poison slowly, with extreme caution and a hint of guilt. "Thank you, my lady." He carefully secured the phial in the pouch at his hip.

"Oh, the least I can do," she waved him off. "If you were a little closer to death, I'd just kill you and resurrect you as my new general, but," she shrugged nonchalantly, "such is life."

"Er... yes..."

"Perhaps another time," she breezed, capturing both his hands in hers. He wondered if the puff-squid juice could be absorbed through the skin, if she had any on her hands. You never could tell with insane Mazoku. "Goodbye, darling Knight, and good luck to you on your holy quest. May you be the victorious murderer. Adieu, adieu. I pray we shall meet again."

Alemo played along. "Likewise, my lady. You've been more then generous."

Her face grew wistful, and her eyes filled with the saltwater that was her essence. "_Do_ come back and visit me, Alemo. It's so very lonely down here." 

He was about to reply gallantly when a bubble formed around him, shot haphazardly to the surface and sped towards the continental shore as he ricocheted off its walls.

Deep Sea clasped her hands tearfully. "Goodbye..." After a moment, she turned her head to the air beside her. "Oh, Margaret, I shall miss him terribly... he's done us so much good here..." She paused. "Yes, and he does have a nice ass, doesn't he?"

* * * * *

Filia had bid them farewell early that morning as the group continued their search for the mountains. She and Mayaki had gotten along fine after their initial spat, though the two were still edgy around one another and didn't dare strain their relation further... In other words, they barely spoke to each other unless it was absolutely necessary. Xellos tried to behave himself, but, as he told them all later, "There's just something about Filia that makes her the perfect target." He managed to get himself kicked before leaving. Twice.

He rubbed his bruised ribs again. "Ouch... I'm going to have to start remembering that pain is different for humans..."

"You deserved it," Lina chided. "After threatening to break her pots like that... you're just lucky she kicked you in the ribs instead of your..."

"Miss Lina! Don't be crude!"

"Ohhh, all right..."

"Hey, here comes Zelgaddis," Gourry pointed out. 

Mayaki blinked. "Back from the library already?"

Amelia nodded. "If there's an expert researcher among us, it's Mister Zelgaddis. He's been after his cure for years. If there's information about the Darisalito Mountains there, he'll find it for sure."

"Zel!" Lina waved exuberantly. "Any luck?"

The cloaked chimaera man shook his head. "Not a word. These wyverns must be a really tight-lipped bunch. The clerk said that the city east of here has a fair-sized library... that sounds like our best bet for now."

The little redhead let out a puff of breath. "We're never going to find this place at the rate we're going... and it's almost winter. We'll all be decrepit by the time we find this place! There has to be an easier way than going from town to town on the off chance somebody has heard of these stupid mountains!"

Zelgaddis chuffed. "If only we'd done some research before we went to the Temple of Dreams..." He stared vaguely into space. 

Amelia took hold of his arm. "Are you all right, Mister Zelgaddis? It's not like you to-" He jerked his arm away from her. She was left stunned. He wasn't angry at her. They both knew it, and so neither one apologized for their action. It wouldn't have gotten them anywhere.

The motley group followed the eastern road out of town, pensively, in silence.

"Wait," Xellos suddenly interposed. He froze in his tracks. The others halted as well, curious. Xellos's seriousness triggered something in them-a communal feeling of significance, set off by the tone of his voice. "We have to go back there."

"To Effigren?" Mayaki asked, looking over her shoulder. She'd rather not visit the golden dragon woman again so soon. 

Xellos made no motion, but corrected, "To the Temple of Dreams. To Telgen City."

Zelgaddis growled. "Why do we need to go back there?! We've already been there, used our wishes, and got nothing out of it!"

Mayaki corrected him. "Maybe not 'nothing.' I'm sure we've all learned something from our dreams... I know that without mine, I never would have been able to defeat Zelas."

"We don't need a moral right now," the chimaera snapped at her. He wheeled angrily on Xellos. "And now _you_ want us to retrace our steps because YOU... you..." The anger died on his stone lips. His eyes locked on the priest, expression melting to one of awe and realization. "...you never went in."

The general-priest nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving Zelgaddis's. The chimaera's eyes dilated and moistened. His expression changed like the time of day, from anger to hope to frustration to hope to confusion to hope. If he knew what to say at all, he couldn't make the words come out. Finally, he turned to cut through the forest toward a northeast-bound road that would lead them to Telgen.

Mayaki linked hands with the somber priest as they followed. They exchanged a quiet glance. She finally ended the hush with, "It's so good of you to do this for him."

"And for you," he replied, quirking a smile back at her. "Or had you forgotten that this is your quest as well?"

She chuckled to herself. "No, you would have done it voluntarily for me, but for Zel?"

"True, we've had a bitter relationship. For all I've done to him when I was Mazoku, I owe him this." They watched Amelia scamper past to catch up with Zelgaddis. She took his hand again. This time, he didn't shake her off, and grinned down at her instead. Mayaki turned to Xellos, grinning, to see if he'd noticed. His eyes were fixed on them, but he didn't share her smile. "I'm a horrible person, Mayaki."

"Maybe you were. But you're not now." She hugged his arm, leaning against him. "I'm very proud of you."

The grim look on Xellos's face held its ground. Mayaki felt obligated to expound upon his virtues. "You saved me from Zelas."

"I was the one who seduced you in the first place," he countered.

"Yes, but then you sacrificed your rank and power for me."

"It was a tough decision. I just as easily could have killed you, and blanked it out of my mind. Just like Aryssa."

"But.. the Temple of Dreams," she protested. "I never would have been able to fight Zelas if you hadn't messed with my head like that."

Xellos stared at her. "What do you mean?"

Mayaki's voice caught. Didn't he remember? "In that dream, a big monster attacked me, and I defeated it then. But later, when I fought Zelas in the Astral Plane, she looked exactly like the monster in my dream, so I knew I could defeat her again."

The priest's eyes contained a wild fear. "I didn't do that..."

"What?"

"I didn't bring you an image of Zelas to kill."

"Wha... but..."

"The monster I sent into your dreams was a giant octopus."

Mayaki shook her hear leerily. "No..."

They walked in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Xellos muttered, "I know I didn't miscast it..."

"It was her... I swear it was her..." Mayaki answered.

"It must've been something in that temple," he mused. "The dream spirits, though I didn't detect them... they knew. They gave you what you needed to see, Mayaki."

"What we both needed, apparently."

A long pause ensued. "Perhaps..."

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: Beedoo!'s Place (look me up, I'm the only one with a !)

Okay, well, here's where stuff's going to get a little messier. My Beta Reader is a little busy (who isn't?), and I generally miss a lot of my own typos... so please excuse them!

Well, here it is, Christmas break, finally. That means a nice little influx of chapters as I put up all I've written in my spare time over the semester. Yay! Next year ought to be easier, and so long as I don't get writers' block, you'll get a chapter bi-weekly, if not sooner. In theory, anyway. ;) 

Big thanks to my reviewers: tbiris, Lunacy Ltd, Clover the Sea Beast, and Lina Gabriev. 

Clover, I'm glad your socks have been adequately rocked. They must be hard to walk in, though. ;) Get some sleep already! But take the socks off first. And t'ankee for the ego-inflation. ;) 

Lina G, the Wyverzoku concept grew from the fact that I'm a dracophile... but I didn't want to use a dragon for a Slayers story... it's been done. I prefer to look for new stuff. I also didn't want this fic to be an insertion of the Beedoo!-dragon into said universe. Bee would have eaten everything (EVERYTHING, food, not food, living, dead, or inanimate). So I was looking for something completely opposite. Er, does that answer your question? And yes, I know I've been neglecting Lina & Gourry. Gomen. ;) Have some plans for them later, though, so hang in! ;)

My head is about to overflow, so back to writing I go! 


	33. Chapter 32: Tracking and Backtracking

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo! 

Chapter 32: Tracking, and Backtracking

*Don't worry, Mother. I'll protect you.*

*No! I won't see my son die before I do!*

*Oh, Mother, I can handle her...*

*Hahahaha...handle me, can you? Come on, and we'll see how far you get!*

"Huhh!" The priest sat up in the dawning light. He was alone, the others still asleep. His chest heaved in and out. The dream was already fading back into his subconscious, though he tried to hold on to it. It was as effective as holding water between his fingers. Every morning, they came a little bit closer, but the figures were never clear; he could never recall them once he woke. "Why can't I remember?" he grumbled to himself. With no answer forthcoming, her turned over and tried to get another hour of sleep. The Temple of Dreams was only two days' travel from where they were now... and then he could...

No. His first obligation was to find the route that would lead them to the Darisalito Mountains. He owed that to Mayaki and Zelgaddis both.

He had to trust that his memory would return on its own. He wondered if Zel felt the same way about his cure, perceiving it just beyond the horizon, just on the other side of the next hill... 

He thought again about the dream. "Mother," he said aloud, softly. He tried to remember her.

He wished he could see her. He couldn't remember her face; only an echo of her voice. He couldn't recall the time he'd lived in, though he knew it had been roughly thirteen-hundred years since... Three hundred years before the war of the Monster's Fall, the War of Gods and Monsters. He didn't remember his birthday. He didn't remember how old he was when Zelas had taken him. He couldn't remember if his name had always been Xellos, or if the Greater Beast had renamed him after herself.

He remembered very little of the things he had done, and for that he was glad... mostly. The dark confusion of not precisely knowing haunted him.

* * * * *

The first storm of the rainy season caught up to them the night before reaching the city. The cool rain collected in droplets on the outsides of their tents, then slowly seeped through, eventually making the inside temperature the same as the outside.

The girls huddled together like a bundle of kittens, under a conglomeration of blankets, occasionally jostling one another into partial wakefulness. The awakened would groan or mutter, reposition herself, and make sure no cold, damp air was entering their little envelope of warmth.

Zelgaddis generally wasn't affected by the damp, though he occasionally broke out in a bad case of moss or lichen, which he scraped off in disgust. He had stood guard most of the night, continually stoking the fire, which threatened to die and leave them heatless. 

The other two, not as resistant to the elements or as comfortable with each other's bed-company as the girls, slept sitting up, leaning back to back, with blankets and bedrolls wrapped around and over them. Zel looked in on them once and found a small, fitfully-snoring mountain. They both complained in the morning of not sleeping well.

"Hey, Xellos, how come you kept shifting around last night?" the tall mercenary asked as he stretched out his legs and back.

"Gourry, you're nearly twice my size. Trying to lean against you and sleep is like fighting a losing battle with a toppling bookshelf," Xellos countered crankily. At least it had chased the dreams off for the night.

"Oh... heh, sorry," the swordsman grinned and went on with his routine stretching. 

Xellos regarded him with some measure of jealousy. *No wonder Gourry's always so laid back... he can fall asleep practically on command, anywhere! No one who gets that much sleep could ever be crabby!* Then he glanced at Lina. *On the other hand...*

* * * * *

Lina stood high on a hill, looking down the shard-littered slope their latest shortcut had led them to. "Well, here we are back in Telgen City. Again. To get some answers from the Temple of Dreams. Again."

"No need to be sarcastic about it, Lina," Mayaki chided,

The sorceress rolled her eyes. "I know, I know... but it just seems like we've been going in circles this whole time!"

"Well, with any luck, Mister Xellos's dream will tell us where Mister Elric is, and we can head straight there, right Ze-I mean, Mister Zelgaddis?"

The chimaera looked down, meeting the little justice crusader's eyes. She couldn't tell if he was smiling beneath the linen of his mask, but his eyes sparkled secretly, telling her that he'd noticed her slip. With a somewhat uncertain sigh, he peered out over the sprawl of the city, noting the high cylinder of the temple as it gleamed in the noonday sun. Though he knew Amelia expected an answer, he said nothing. He didn't want to get her hopes up; he was too used to disappointment himself. His gaze remained locked on the white cylinder.

Xellos took a step forward, into Zel's peripheral vision. His boots crunched on the gravel with the movement. He too stared out over the city. "Zel," he began, " I know you don't trust me." Silence ensued as both refused to look at each other. "I haven't given you any reason to," the priest went on. "But I want you to know I won't disappoint you."

More silence followed. Zelgaddis swore he could hear that familiar mischievous smile creeping into Xellos's smile. Somehow it managed to be reliving and disturbing at the same time. He wondered how much time the priest-general had spent just perfecting that annoyingly innocent smile and the tone that matched it. 

Nevertheless, it was Xellos he had to rely on this time. So he didn't look at the former Mazoku. "Don't ask for our cure. That was my mistake. And don't ask to know the location of Elric or the mountains. Ask for-"

"-a visual map to Elric's location, with landmarks that can be easily found and followed."

Zel turned his head to stare at the priest.

Xellos didn't make eye contact either, but smiled. "I've been thinking about it ...rather a lot. It seems that the Vessel of Dreams is very particular in whit it shows, largely dependent on the words of the wishes made to it."

A song lark began twittering in a tree behind them.

"Oh, for crying out loud, let's just go already!" Mayaki complained. "I have to find an over to borrow!"

"Great! Food!" Lina brayed, stampeding down the hill.

"I'm not cooking for _you_!" Mayaki shouted after her. "It's for the DREAMLORDS!"

"So what?" the answer floated back. "Make extra for us!"

Mayaki huffed. "Lina! That's not the point!" She followed the petite firebrand down the embankment, taking a small avalanche of gravel down with her. Gourry and Amelia excitedly did likewise, leaving the two somber men behind on the hill.

Zelgaddis waited for the priest to leave. When the other didn't move, he crossed his arms and cocked an eye at him. "Something else on your mind, Xellos?"

"Something on yours? Better spit it out, they're getting ahead of us."

The chimaera sighed indifferently. "Do you do that just to mess with people's heads, or are you really not aware of it?"

"What? Oh, reading your mind?" Zel glowered at him. "My, my, Zel, haven't you figured that out? Humans-er, and present chimaeric company-are very predictable. With a little practice, you learn how to manipulate people's reactions. For instance..." He took a quick leap forward, getting up in Zelgaddis's face as the chimaera leaned backward to avoid him. "I can tell that this really annoys you, because your personal space boundaries have been affected by your self-perception. Close scrutiny distresses you more than anything, so you've thrown up a wall to keep people away. But, of course, those walls seem to break down a bit when you're around a certain Seyruunian princess..."

Zel was on the point of taking a step back to get away when Xellos finally backed off. He blushed furiously at the mention of Amelia. "And you use this knowledge against people."

"Yeah," Xellos said brightly.

"So why don't you just outright tell me what I'm thinking?"

The priest held up a finger and closed one eye. "Because. I want to see if I'm right."

Zelgaddis tried to keep his eye from twitching. He could see there was no way to continue this conversation without Xellos declaring, "That's what I thought you would say." Of course, there was no getting around the trickster priest's trap: Xellos could claim that he had predicted anything Zel said, no matter what it was, no matter what he did. And likely, he had a perfectly logical explanation for such predictions. So he cut straight to the quick of the matter. "You don't have to do this."

Xellos blinked. "What? What's this? The heartless chimaera passing on a potential cure?"

"It's your wish. We had our chance to use ours wisely, and instead, we barreled into things without checking them out first. You only get one wish... why should we force you into wasting it on us?"

"No one's forcing me. I owe Mayaki, and I owe you."

"But you want your memories to return."

The priest shook his head. "That doesn't matter."

"You can't know where you're going until you know where you've been."

"I'm beginning to wonder if you want to find this cure or not." The chimaera glared at him. "You're not acting like yourself, Zel. Does the thought of your cure frighten you?"

The chimaera continued to stare at him. After a moment, he decided, "No. I've grown used to being a chimaera, I suppose. A man can get used to just about anything. I'll just have to get used to be human again."

The priest nodded. "It's... not an easy transition."

"No," he agreed.

"Or perhaps your stubborn pride is getting the better of you."

"What?!" 

Xellos shrugged nonchalantly. "It _is _your quest. You want to do everything by yourself, for yourself. And," he added teasingly, "you don't want to have anyone to thank for their help. You're afraid your obligation to them would tie you to them forever, because that's a debt you have no way of repaying."

Zelgaddis simply stared at him, puzzled by how the other man could decipher his thoughts so clearly...thoughts he hadn't even consciously realized. 

"Like you said," the priest continued, "it is my wish, and I should use it as I please." 

Zel's heart sank. He nodded numbly. 

"And, at present, it pleases me to find Elric and the Darisalito Mountains."

"I..." Zel started, then words failed him. He tried again. "Thank you."

Xellos's eyes focussed on the white cylinder of the temple again. He snorted ruefully. "you can thank me when you're human again."

The two men regarded each other silently. After a moment, Xellos waved a hand at the chimaera. "See you at the bottom." With a couple of running steps, he began his sliding decent down the gravelly slope.

"Hmph," Zel snorted. "We'll see who sees who at the bottom!" He used his demon speed to propel himself down the hill. Xellos would find his pride slightly damaged when he reached the hill's bottom.

* * * * *

Mayaki managed to commandeer a kitchen relatively near the temple, and spent four hours preparing her offering, as both a thanksgiving and an exchange. "Why take chances?" she said. "Gods are always more helpful if you give them something they like, right?"

The rest grudgingly agreed and helped her carry her exquisitely-prepared dishes to the Temple of Dreams. People around them inhaled and sighed at the pervading aromas of herbs and sauces that mingled into a boquet of scent that would rival all the incense burned in the Temple for the past three years. Eight trays in all were set before the altars of the Dreamlords. Roast suckling pig with a clove-spiced golden apple in its mouth and chunks of pineapple and sweet peppers in the body cavity, a plate of fish rolls, another of vegetable puffs that promised a certain pique of the tastebuds, fresh rolls soft as clouds, putting off the scents of warm yeast, garlic, melted butter and oregano. There were fried doves and rabbits, served on an enormous platter, piled so full that the birds and bunnies seemed to be oversized hors d'oeuvres. To round the enormous meal off, our wyvern chef concocted two heaping plates of confections: chocolate, butterscotch, maple, cherry, coffee. And dessert, of course: blueberry turnovers, piled sky-high, and latesquash pie with whipped sugared cream.

It was all Mayaki could do to keep Lina and Gourry from devouring her sacrifice to the gods before reaching the steps of the temple, despite promising that she had made plenty extra for them. She had to chide them several times as they traversed the block and a half from the kindly borrowed kitchen.

The offerings set down, the wyvern chef knelt and prayed while Xellos made the presentation of his single wish to the Vessel of Dreams, then staggered weakly up the long staircase to the sleeping quarters. 

Rising, the girl rejoined her friends. "I hope this works," she breathed, looking up to meet Zelgaddis's eyes. She couldn't tell if it was hope or hatred she was reading in them.

"The Dreamlords ought to be praying to _you_ for all the great food you just left them!" Lina half-complained. "Well, let's head back before those spinach puffs cool off! We won't see Xellos until tomorrow afternoon anyway."

"Right!" Gourry seconded, following the sorceress's lead."

"Oooo! I can't _wait!_" Mayaki heard her squeal as the pair bounded down the temple steps back the way they'd come.

"Wait for me! I want some too!" Amelia called, trailing after them.

Zelgaddis sighed through his mask and began heading after them, but turned when he noticed Mayaki, thoughtfully planted on the steps with her chin in her hand. "Coming?" he asked gently.

She paused with her mouth agape before answering. "I think I'll make a side trip to Kaimer..." she said eventually. "I should see how Ari's doing."

His eyes narrowed sarcastically at her. "You sure you want to go alone? There are dangerous criminals on the roads, you know."

She giggled, hiding her mouth with one hand. "Don't worry, I can take care of myself," she mocked back, drawing her wolf-headed bodice dagger and brandishing it playfully at him. "Besides, I'll take a little short-cut through the Astral Plane."

"Back this evening?"

"Yes. Late, probably. Don't wait up for me."

"Tell Ari hello from all of us."

The girl nodded. "I will. See you later!" The two waved at each other and parted company.

She walked through Telgen's streets, mind full of memories... had it been six months already? Ari would be so glad to see her! They'd have so many stories to tell one another-she wondered if she really would be back in the evening and not the middle of the night. 

Maybe she would be lucky and no one would recognize her. Her enthusiasm dwindled. It had been great traveling with Lina and Zel and the rest of the group, not having to worry about taunts or assaults. For the most part, anyway. But back in Kaimer...

*I should have asked Zel if I could borrow his mask,* she thought darkly. *Not that he would part with it for a minute...*

She'd had to stop and ask directions twice; it was always easy to get lost in an unfamiliar city; worse when the roads tended to loop back on themselves as they did here. At least the people here weren't wary of her. She was just a regular girl here.

When she reached the edge of the forest, she carefully sneaked behind some thick brush, looked around for any observers, and seeing none, transformed herself. With another quick glance around, she slipped soundlessly into the Astral Plane.

* * * * *

Alemo found himself pitched onto the beach as Dolphin's bubble popped. Clearing sand from his mouth and nostrils, he sat up and looked around. Tracking his sister would be all but impossible, as much of a lead as she had on him now. Still, he had to find her-she was his only link to finding Elric. Besides which, if they _had_ found the way to the mountains already (which he doubted), it would be easier to follow them rather than search for his own way there. Let them do all the work; let them lead him to Elric.

But, of course, there was the problem of catching up to them. They had a three day lead on him; they could be anywhere by now, especially with that teleportational trick of his sister's. 

"No use in just standing here though," he sighed, choosing a random direction and following it in the widely-spaced towering conifers. 

A town. He needed to find a town, see if six visitors fitting the description of Mayaki and her friends had passed through recently. If they hadn't been there, he would try the next, and the next, tracing his way down the beach. He couldn't waste time. He would have to-

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He felt that he was being watched. Although he looked and saw nothing, as an assassin, he knew better than to ignore his instincts. His hand curled cautiously around the grip of his sword as he continued to scan the forest for movement. "Who's there?" he called, sounding calmer than he felt.

A resounding feminine cackle answered him. He unsheathed his sword, holding it ready as he dropped into a defensive stance. The woods suddenly seemed to be cloyingly full of pressing water vapor. Ghostly movements startled him several times. "Who's there?" he repeated, louder this time.

"So, you're what Mistress has been so interested in," the voice sounded again, directly behind him. Instantly, he whirled, catching sight of the woman a fraction of a second before his sword passed through her midsection. Alemo gasped, thinking he had killed her. He had expected the spurt of blood that usually came with such a slash. He also expected the fleshy catch of metal on muscle, bone, or soft tissue as his sword cleaved through them, but there was none.

The woman, unfazed at having a broadsword pass through her form, laughed at him viciously. "Oh, I can see where you would be terribly amusing to her." Alemo blinked at her, stunned. He had seen the blade pass through her; he knew he hadn't missed. He never missed. It was as if her body and the sword existed in two different dimensions. She laughed at him again, soft, seductive, mocking. "Surprised?" The mists, previously part of the forest, seemed to condense into her body.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

Her long greenish-teal hair flapped in the light breeze, reminding Alemo of seaweed. A green dress of layered sequins slid across her sensual form as she slowly circled the apprehensive assassin. She seemed to flow-almost splash-as she took another step toward him. Her eyes, though think and catlike ellipses, contained a deep, liquid quality. "Mistress Dolphin thought you might require a little aid."

"Dolphin-Rah, you mean?" he growled cynically back. The mazoku rolled her cyan eyes.

"Poor Mistress... For a while there, we thought she might actually snap out of it and send us on a mission to conquer the world... I miss those days." She sighed. "Ah, pardon me. My name is Naia. Deep Sea Dolphin sent my associate and I to look after you, though why, I really don't know, other than the fact that you're out to destroy that little wretch, Xellos."

"Your...associate?"

"D'Saani. We'll meet up with him before long. He's off tracking your foes, you know."

Alemo looked perplexed. "Is he?" *Deep-Sea, you're a doll,* he thought, following Naia as she began a seductive saunter through the trees.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: Beedoo!'s Place (look me up, I'm the only one with a !)

Thanks to Lina Gabriev, Clover the Sea Beast, badgerwolf and tbiris for reviews. Glad you guys are around to keep me in-line! ;) On another note completely, I'm three pages away from finishing off my third notebook of writing this story! I promise I will hug more trees in my next life. Hope to have another chapter out soon…'course, now this is all uncharted territory! *brain stalls* Aigh! What to write??


	34. Chapter 33: Change: For Better or Worse?

Mazoku of My Dreams

Written by Beedoo!

Chapter 34: Change: For Better or Worse?

Saying she was terrified of being recognized when she returned to her hometown was putting a condor on the same level as a pigeon. For a moment, she considered turning around and going back to the inn. It would certainly be easier, although she would have to fight for her share of the food. No, she decided, she was no coward. Not anymore. She wondered if Ari would even recognize her. Oh, she hadn't changed physically—hardly at all, maybe a little taller—but her attitude since she'd left home was much, much different. She wondered if she would recognize Ari. *People change,* she thought sadly. She hoped that Ari hadn't. Nothing was constant in her life anymore. Lina, she knew, loved the constant change of scenery, the thrill of being on the road, seeking fame and fortune… but that wasn't Mayaki's lifestyle, much as she tried to adapt. *The sooner this is all over, the better,* she thought begrudgingly. *Then I can come home and Ari and I can get back to our lives…* Her thoughts paused tentatively. *Maybe Xellos will come home with me…*

She cut her train of thoughts short as she cautiously stepped out of the forest. She didn't think anyone had seen her, otherwise she would have thought the townsfolk were simply avoiding her, as was typical of them. Yet she traversed the entire distance to the inn without seeing a soul.

"How odd," she said aloud to herself.

Deciding to make an entrance, she turned the doorknob and burst into the room with a flourish. "Hallo, Miss! I'd like a room for the night and a meal from that wondrous little wyvern girl!"

She expected Ari to laugh. She expected Ari to glare at her dryly. She expected Ari to run up an hug her.

Ari didn't do any of these things. Ari wasn't even there.

"Ari? You home?" Mayaki heaved a sigh. "Damn… bad timing." She examined the place. It looked as if it had been abandoned. Most of the comforts of living were gone; only the heavier pieces of furniture remained. She ran a finger through the dust on the mantelpiece, rubbing it between her fingers. 

She moved through the living area into the dining room, leaving bootprints in the dust covering the floorboards. She stared at the long oaken table and remembered once, not so long ago, when she'd served five very unique strangers. A wry, nostalgic half-smile came to her lips. On a second glance, she noticed an envelope, likewise coated with dust, in the middle of the table. She picked it up carefully, as not to disturb the dust and cause herself a sneezing fit, swept the envelope clean and admired her own name, written in Aramina's immaculate curly-cue handwriting. 

"Dearest Mayaki," the letter began:

I have the most awful feeling we won't see each other again. You know that business here had been bad, but things have steadily worsened. Everyone had been packing up and leaving. The farmers can't sell their crops and make money here anymore. Too many of their customers have moved away…and with the farmers gone, we have only dry goods supplies and the vegetables from our own small gardens. It seems like everything here in Kaimer has just dried up. The good news is they haven't found a way to blame you for any of this, and for that, I'm very glad. 

I've been worried about you, Mayaki… whether you've found what it is you're looking for, where you are, if you're still alive at all. I hope you are, and I hope you are well. I know you said you would write, but I know how that goes, and it must be hard to write letters while traveling. You must still be out there somewhere; I haven't had any bad dreams about you. 

All the same, I'm afraid I won't receive your letters before I leave this place as well. I'm going to try to set up business in Jaerith. I leave tomorrow with a caravan heading that direction. May this note find you in good health, and I pray that we'll meet again someday. You are always in my thoughts, and I dearly miss your cooking. I tried a recipe the other day, and it came out absolutely hideous.

Please come find me if you are ever in Jaerith.

Love and blessings,

Aramina

Mayaki sighed deeper. Now she didn't even have a home to come home to once she was full human. *It's always the good things that have to change, isn't it?* With a last glance at the letter, she carefully refolded it, returned it to its envelope, creased it, and slipped it into her pocket. 

Stepping back outside, she closed the door and wandered through the abandoned streets. *It's all so different here… where I used to have to hide or put up with people's fear of me… But now everyone's gone.* She added aloud, "I guess I really have started a new life." The thoughts sank in with a kind of helpless remorse—nothing could be done about it, nothing could go back to being the way it had been, good or bad. There was only one way left to go, and that was back to her quest. She turned onto the road that had originally carried her away from Kaimer when she had initially met Zelgaddis and the others. She didn't bother entering the Astral Plane immediately; perhaps a walk through familiar woods would lighten her mood.

Mayaki didn't see them, but a pair of eyes, blue as underwater depths—so blue, they were all but black—watched her go. Their owner made no movement, no sound, but as soon as Mayaki vanished down the trail, this figure did likewise, in a more literal sense.

* * * * *

Xellos felt himself floating, and for an instant, thought that his powers had returned. *No,* he thought, *this is my dream.* He continued to hover like a specter. For a few minutes, nothing happened. The priest stared around at his dull gray surroundings, beginning to fear that this utter lack of anything meant that there were no Darisalito Mountains, that there was no Elric DeBarro. *How can I break this to Mayaki?* he wondered. *Zel… he probably suspected something like this would happen from the start. He's been through this kind of disappointment before. But, Mayaki… poor Mayaki…* There was something about this situation that began to nag at him. He drifted here and there in the blank space, not really seeming to move, other than the rustling of his cape. The nothingness irritated him. "Hello? Is there someone in charge here I can speak to?" he called out.

A tenor voice thrummed back out of nowhere. "Oy, yeh… give us a minute, mate. 's not exactly a run-o'-the-mill dream ye've wished for… Nosec's havin' to put it together from scratch. We'll get you started just as soon as the old man can get it queued up for ye. Ah, here we are. Cheers, mate. Off ye go."

His feet suddenly rested on a giant bronze compass rose. The scenery came up next, an accurate depiction of the world he was familiar with, as the compass lifted him into the sky above Telgen City. It paused only a second before shooting eastward over the trees and terrain. Eventually it reached a gigantic canyon, though Xellos couldn't gauge how far he was travelling, or how long the journey would take them on foot. The compass turned south to follow the course of the canyon, which eventually emptied onto a great flatland. 

Xellos watched the vegetation change as he continued southward, from trees to bushes to low brush, to nothing at all. After that, the land itself began turning black as he passed over what seemed to be a black sand desert. 

Beyond the desert, signs of life reappeared, notably two large and obviously man-made spires. The compass hovered for a bare moment above the silver spikes, then turned on a southwest bearing. The jagged mountain it stopped over next was relatively not far from the spires. 

A slight turn to south-southwest, and the compass took off again. Single trees began to appear, then groves and whole forests, spiced with meadows and open fields… familiar territory for their group. Xellos didn't see anything that was clearly a road, yet the compass managed to slow over a small township at the forest's edge. As the brass object began to descend, Xellos took in its distinctiveness: patches of forest and meadow on three sides, foothills on the fourth. 

His ride touched down within the town-proper. The compass disappeared, depositing him lightly on the ground. He stood before a large building—easily three times the size of the Temple of Dreams in both height and length—with a carving of an open book above its massive doors. "A scribner's?" he muttered to himself. "Or a monastery?" He made for the door, hauling it open with all his strength and looked inside, only to have his senses blocked out by a piercing whiteness…

The priest shielded his eyes with one arm until the brightness was no longer a threat, but when he lowered his arm, the building was gone. As was the rest of the town. Xellos found himself in a pleasant meadow with a stream trickling nearby. 

"Get what you came for?" the tenor voice that had spoken earlier asked, though this time Xellos could clearly pinpoint its origin, behind him. He turned to see a young, sandy-haired man sitting on a low-hanging treebranch. He took a bite of the half-eaten apple he held—Xellos recognized it as the one Mayaki had stuffed in the mouth of the suckling pig. "Mmm.." the youth muttered, chewing. "That little wyvern friend of yours certainly knows how to cook.

The priest smiled brightly. "Yes, she's quite talented."

"The old man and I haven't seen a sacrifice that good for two hundred years at least."

Xellos squinted at the young man as he hopped down from his treebranch perch. "Who…" he started to ask.

"Name's Wirren."

"The Dreamlord?"

"That's me. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Xellos. 's not every day, or night, we get to give a dream to a Mazoku general."

"Former Mazoku general," the priest corrected with a front of his typical arrogant air. "I would think that you would be more on top of recent developments."

The man laughed. "Of course we are," he scoffed, dusting off his light-blue garb and taking another bite of apple. "Nonetheless, not an everyday experience for use, especially here at our own temple. Isn't that right, old man?" he called over Xellos's shoulder. Xellos turned to see the other Dreamlord, Nosec, certain that he hadn't been standing there before. The old man, dressed in robes of dark blue with gold accents, merely closed his eyes and bowed his head once to Xellos.

"But… I'm not Mazoku anymore," the befuddled priest repeated.

"Well, yes, mate, and that's part of what makes you so interesting to us." Wirren flamboyantly slung his arm over Xellos's shoulder. "The other part is you gave us your one dreamwish for your friends. It takes a lot of resolve, mate. Not everyone can do what they promise they'll do."

"I owed them both.  
"Oy, yeh, after tamperin' in your girl's dream! I remember that one!" The younger Dreamlord all but danced around him. "That was a good one!"

Xellos fixed wide eyes on him. "So it was you that interfered?"

"Us nothin', mate. You were the one tryin' to mess with the girl's wish. But," he shrugged, "if you get to bend the rules to get in and screw around, we get to bend 'em back to set everything right, right?"

The priest could do nothing but nod silently, deep in through. "So, why am I still here? The dream has obviously run its course…"

"See, actually, it was Nosec's idea," Wirren explained, scratching the back of his head as he finished off the apple. "He's been tryin' to reach you ever since you reverted to a human a few weeks back, and , well, something's not entirely…clockwork, if ye catch my drift, right? And we got to thinkin' Miz Zelas might've had something to do with it. D'ya follow?"

He nodded. "I suspected she might've."

"Right then. So Nosec there wants t' see if he can take a looksee and get rid of whatever's causin' the trouble, if it's okay with you."

He tried to contain his emotion as he consented. Nonetheless, he came off sounding much happier than he'd intended to. "I suppose that would be the bet course, wouldn't it?" He peered over at Nosec, a bit nervous. The wizend old Dreamlord gave a silent but reassuring smile, followed by a slight bow, which Xellos returned out of courtesy. His smile widened, not showing so much around his mouth as in the narrowing of his sparkling eyes and the deepening of the crow's feet at their corners. The old man walked measuredly behind a young tree and appeared on the other side carrrying a small stepladder. Returning to Xellos, he placed it on the priest's left, then shakily ascended the two steps. As he balanced there, seeming to quiver with typically elderly weak knees, Xellos felt the upper half of his head being swung open, as if it were on a hinge. He angled his eyes up, trying to see what was going on, but didn't dare move his head. The rattling that occurred as Nosec moved his arm around could easily compare to someone rummaging through a silverware drawer. "What is he doing up there?" Xellos wondered aloud to the watching youth.

"Oh, don't worry. Nosec's an expert at this," the younger Dreamlord breezed, not seeming to pay much attention.

The old man continued feeling around in Xellos's opened mind, eventually coming across what he was looking for. Xellos felt something being pulled loose as his brains gave a collective sigh of relief and moved into the newly-available space. He heard the creak and felt the slam as his head closed. Looking over at the Dreamlord descending the tin stepladder, he reached back to compulsively scratch at the place he'd felt the hinge, but felt nothing but his own hair. 

The ladder disappeared without notice. The old man held out the small wooden cube he had extracted. "Ah,look at that!" Wirren observed with sudden interest. "A mental block!"

Xellos stared at the small object that the old man placed into his palm. "So what does this mean?" he asked Nosec. The old man squeezed his elbow gently and hobbled off.

"Means your memory ought to return normally now," Wirren replied as he began to follow his elder into the increasingly misty meadow. "Take care of that wyvern gel, hey, mate? Tell 'er she can leave us a sacrifice anytime she likes!"

Xellos nodded, then looked down at the mental block in his hand. It grew long, bendy arms and legs and a face, and stood up. Then it pulled the corners of its mouth to make a face at him, hopping from one leg to another. Xellos woke up with the distinct impression that the Dreamlords had a highly developed but warped sense of humor.

* * * * *

Alemo stared up—and up—at Deep Sea's other lackey. He hadn't known what to expect from a monster called D'saani. Alemo had always considered himself to be exceptionally tall, and well-built too, but standing beside a monster sixteen feet high and at least five feet wide who looked more like a tsunami than a human, even Alemo felt a bit inadequate.

"You found my sister, you say?" he asked the oversized Mazoku when he finally found his voice.

"Yes. Travelling." The solid form shifted itself slightly. "Staying at an inn in this town."

"Here? In Telgen?"

"YES," D'saani boomed in reply.

"So, Alemo," Naia joined in from her seat on a convenient crate, "shall we attack?"

The assassin turned this over in his mind. "No."

Naia all but leapt at him. "No?!"

He shook his head. "We must have patience. Several murders here would be too easily discovered, and anyone with a sharp wit would be able to track us. Our foes will be easiest to ambush once they get out on the roads."

"Is that truly the wisest course?" the Mazoku 'woman' breezed, flipping her hair. "Or are you hesitating on account of your sister?"

"I'll remind you that she is only my half-sister, and that I care for her less than I do for my vengeance upon my father."

The green-eyed Mazoku narrowed her eyes at him shrewdly. "Then perhaps it _is_ the best course."

"I'd also like to remind you, Lady Naia, that I'm a very seasoned assassin."

She laughed to herself. "Well, naturally. That _is_ why Mistress wants you in her employ…to kill that simpering fool, Xellos. You _can_ manage to do away with him, can't you, before you get distracted with your meaningless little quest?"

"My only purpose in accepting your help, Dolphin's help, is for the sake of slaughtering my father," he spat.

Naia's expression grew especially sharp as she glanced at Alemo out of the corner of her eye. "If you do not manage to take care of Xellos, Mistress will be quite displeased. She may be off her rocker, but she still does enjoy a nice torture session. Do you catch my meaning?"

The half-wyvern assassin narrowed his eyes at her with a growl. "Perfectly."

"Marvelous. We shall meet you at this place again in the morning. D'saani will keep track of our foes."

"And where will you be?"

Naia's shrewd smile was dropped, replaced by a look of irritation. "Be careful what questions you choose to pursue, Alemo DeBarro. I will be checking in with Mistress Deep-Sea, to report our progress in this matter."

Without further parting words, the two Mazoku disappeared. Alemo ground his teeth at the thought of being coerced into a contract with Dolphin's minions, and knew that at least for the moment, there was no way out. *Will I really have to kill my sister, so soon after first meeting her?* he wondered. *Perhaps there is another way. Perhaps we can destroy the priest without Mayaki needing to know it was of my doing…and then after our father is killed, we can still be friends.* He sighed to himself downheartedly. *Oh, wishful thinking is a wonderful thing…*

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: Beedoo!'s Place (look me up, I'm the only one with a !)

Thanks to tbiris, badgerwolf, Lina Gabriev, and Kyro for reviews!

Lina G, I am trying to save the trees, but they're so hard to put into a scrapbook! I don't know how people manage it! (and thanks for the heads-up!… dumb chapter thing..)

Kyro, I'm working as fast as I can, but there's this little annoyance called 'school'...and another called 'writer's block'... put the two together and you get one hell of a mess. :P Should have time eventually though, and I'm not abandoning this fic! *waves her little Xellos pennant*


	35. Chapter 34: Slow Going, or None at All?

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 34: Slow Going, or None at All?

Lina stared out through one of the inn's bay windows.  Outside, against a background of lemon-yellow sunshine and dark storm clouds, raindrops caught the light, each flashing brilliantly before patting against the ground.  The petite sorceress sighed.  "I know we're in a hurry to find this Elric guy, but do we really have to walk in the rain?  It's so cold!"

"Miss Lina, we have to stay ahead of Mister Alemo, or Miss Mayaki and Mister Zelgaddis will never get their cures!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Amelia.  I'm just not looking forward to traveling in _this_.  A couple more months, and it's going to start snowing."

"Oh dear… I didn't realize winder was so close," Mayaki added. 

"Doesn't anyone like the snow but me?" the princess whine.

"No," the other two chorused.

"I'm so hungry!  Why're we waiting on breakfast?"

Mayaki set her hands on her hips.  "I told you already, Lina.  If we order food before Xellos gets here, you and Gourry will eat it all, and if he orders his own when he gets here, you'll decide you're hungry again and try to steal it from him."  She glanced out the window, looking down to the street.  "Oh, here he is!" she twittered, clapping her hands and waving down to him.  "Xellos!"

"Great.  Let's go meet him and get breakfast!"  Lina sprang to her feet, never so happy to see Xellos in her life.  Mayaki giggled girlishly and followed, leaving Amelia staring out the window at the rain. 

"Hey, wait!  Wait for me!" she exclaimed, dashing down the stairs after them.

* * * * *

"East?  That's the best directions you could get?"  Lina's eye twitched dangerously.  Xellos held his hands up in defense.  

"Yes… East, until we come to this canyon…"

"And you say there are _no inns_ on the way there?"

"None to tell of.  In fact, there didn't seem to be as much as a town the entire distance."

Lina speared a pancake with her fork and shoved the whole thing into her mouth.  She chewed twice and swallowed it.

Mayaki carefully cut into her own flapjacks, keeping a wary eye on Lina and Gourry on one side of her, and half an eye on Amelia, just in case.  She leaned toward Zelgaddis carefully and asked, "Has Lina's mouth always been disproportionate to the rest of her body?"

Zel spluttered into his coffee, coughed a few times, and his a grin behind his closed fist, trying to maintain his dignity.

"I don't even know why I agreed to come on this stupid quest," the sorceress mumbled through a spray of crumbs.

"But Miss Lina, it was practically your idea!"

Lina narrowed her eyes and did her best to ignore Amelia's solid logic.  "The traveling season's almost over and the only major treasure stash we ran into we had to leave behind.  From here on out, we're up against rain, snow, sleet, hail, mud, cold temperatures, sleeping on wet ground, no place to take a bath, and a serious lack of profit.  Not to mention any monsters we happen to run into."

Even Gourry stopped eating and blinked at her.  "Lina, you really don't want to go?"

The petite redhead leaned back in her chair, patted her bulging stomach, and set her boots up on the table.  "I'd rather just stay here until spring rolls around."  The two waitresses who had been busily clearing the group's stacks of dishes suddenly and simultaneously exchanged looks of horror and made themselves scarce.  "Hey, as long as you're going to the kitchen, bring us out a few more eggs, over medium!" Lina shouted after them.

"But, Miss Lina, what about Mister Zelgaddis?"

"Cool it, Amelia," the chimaera warned.

"But…"

He sipped from his cup calmly.  "No one forced her to come along in the first place.  Why should we force her to come along now?"

The princess deflated, putting a finger to her lower lip.  "I… I guess you're right…"

Mayaki stared over the table helplessly.  "I'd offer to make you more food while we're on the road, but everything I can catch and fix in a day, you guys go through in less than an hour."

"It'll be a definite loss," Xellos summed up, finishing  off a third helping of sausage and eggs.  (His capacity for food, once he learned to fight off the ravenous, marauding gourmets of the group, had proven to be almost as prominent as Lina and Gourry's.)  "And I assume," he added wryly, "that if Lina stays behind…so will Gourry.  Correct?"

The swordsman nodded, in a numb silence and looked over to Lina, who was blushing furiously and twiddling her fingers.

Xellos sighed and nodded somberly.

"Miss Lina, you really won't come?"

The sorceress held up her hands, as if it wasn't her decision at all.  "It won't be a very nice trip."

Tense silence settled in the room.  Lina continued to hold on to her proud smile, refusing to take back what she'd said, even though she wasn't sure she meant it.  Her entire way of life depended on making a choice and standing firm on it; she wasn't about to give in.  That would mean she was getting soft.

Mayaki broke the silence by scooting her chair out and standing up.  "I suppose we had better pack up and get going, then, if we can't change your mind, Lina.  I hope we'll cross paths again sometime."  She headed toward the inn's stairs and muttered, seemingly to herself, but loud enough to be heard at the table, "Who would have thought a little inclement weather would stop Lina Inverse…"

Lina was on her in a second, planting the wyvern-girl into the stairs and pinning her with a foot against her back.  In each hand, the sorceress gripped a fistful of Mayaki's russet-burgundy hair and yanked on it as she spoke, eyes narrow and threatening.  "What did you just say?!"

"Ow!  Ow!  Lina!  OW!" the other girl protested.

"You saying I can't cut it?  You think I'm going to wuss-out because of a little cold weather?!  You've got another thing coming, sister!  Pack it up, people.  Let's get this show on the road!"  Mayaki's forehead hit the steps as she was dropped, Lina bounding up the stairs to collect her belongings.

Mayaki slowly sat up.  Xellos helped her to her feet.  "You alright?"

"I thought that might get her moving," she grinned/grimaced as she rubbed the new bump on her forehead.  "I just didn't know it would hurt so much…"

* * * * *

The nights were more eventful than the days, at least in Xellos's case.  Memories returned to him in dribs and drabs, very small snippets.  He would recall a voice, a taste, a favorite song… less in the first few days since his visit to the temple, but increasingly more as time progressed.

_*Cirross!*_

*What?* he thought, instantly aware of his dream.  *Who is…*

*_ Cirross!… Ua taji bo tesshti na!*_

_*_This language…the old language.  It's change over time.  Of course.  And Cirross is…*

"Cirross!...I told you, those cookies are for later!"

"But Mamma, they're still warm, and that's when they taste best!"

Xellos felt disoriented, one moment viewing the kitchen scene of this straggly-haired kid bargaining with his mother for a cookie; the next moment seeing through his own childhood eyes, looking up into her bright, violet, almond-shaped ones.  He both heard the words and felt himself speaking them.  He experienced the memory like a firsthand occurrence, but also re-experienced it with a curious sensation of déjà vu.  

"But Mamma, they're still warm, and that's when they taste the best!" he said.

"Is that so" the black-haired woman teased, tossing her long braid over her shoulder, letting it fishtail behind her back as she knelt to speak with her son.  "And why is that?"

The seven-year old Cirross pondered for a second, screwing up his forehead with the effort.  "Because the warm part is all the love put into the cookie by the person who baked it, and if we let them get cold, no one will get to taste the love part."

*Such a weasel, even at that age,* Xellos thought, shaking his head in amusement.  He felt the warmth of the hot butter and chocolate on his tongue as he and his mother shared one of the fresh treats.  

"Your hair is getting awfully long.  How about a haircut?"  the violet eyes shone down on him.    
                The child looked quizzically back.  "How about another cookie instead?"

The woman laughed.  "Now, now, you need it.  Look at how scruffy you are!  Let's go out in back and we'll take care of it, shall we?"

* * * * *

Xellos felt the cold wetness around his head and in his ears as his mother splashed water into his unruly hair.

"Let's see, how short shall we make it?"

"Here," Cirross indicated, leveling his hand at his ears.  "All the way around."

His mother laughed musically.  "Silly boy.  If I do it all the way around, it'll still keep falling in your eyes.  Let's try…" she trailed off as she held the bowl against his head, cutting his hair to the requested length around the sides.  Then she tilted the bowl up higher on his head, above his eyes, and cut his bangs.  "There, that ought to do," she smiles.  "Turn around, let me see.  Oh, but aren't you handsome!"

"I wanna see!" Cirross demanded, running—scrambling was more like it—through the house to find his mother's silver hand-mirror.  His child-self examined the new look, found it satisfactory, and began amusing himself by winking at his reflection.  His mother came in behind him, took the looking glass from him and set it down gently, then gave her son a squeeze and an affectionate kiss on the forehead.

Xellos sat up in his dew-coated bedroll, well before dawn.  The fading images of the dream still lingered.  "Mother," he said aloud, though quietly.  It was almost a shock to have remembered his mother, when before, he had been unaware of even having _had_ a mother at all.  More than this, he remembered the strong, pure love he'd had for her.

Then the thought struck that she was gone, that he would never see her again outside of his dreams, never be able to express his love to her.  He bit his lip to stop himself, but two tears rolled out from the corners of his eyes anyway, catching the red light of the dying embers.

Not certain that he wanted to regain any more memories that night, he sniffed once, wrapped his blankets tighter around himself, and lay back down.

He missed her immensely, he realized, now that he remembered her.

* * * * *

"Another day of walking… Geez, Xellos, how far off is this canyon?" Lina bawled discontentedly.  

"Yeah," Gourry echoed, likewise tiring of the endless foot-travel.  "I'm beginning to wonder if it really exists.

"Maybe we should have bought some horses," Amelia thought aloud.

Xellos turned to cast his eyes over his worn-out companions.  Except for Zelgaddis (who stood as firm as ever), all of them looked bedraggled and exhausted.  Perhaps, he thought to himself, they had been pushing forward a little too hard.  Muddy, wet travel was doing nothing to speed their way.  Neither was having to break their own trail.  Or the small tribe of trolls who had found themselves on the wrong end of Lina's temper… she didn't stop fireballing them until every last one was reduced to a pile of smoldering ashes.  Nevertheless, they had to keep going.  After coming so far, what choice did they have?  They would run out of food eventually, even if they turned back.  That ship had sailed a week ago.  So Xellos opted for…well, optimism.  "I'm sure it can't be much further,"  he encouraged brightly.  "It _has_ been almost three weeks… The forest in my dream didn't seem to be nearly this large, so the canyon must be somewhere nearby…"  He hoped he was right.  His own patience with this journey was flagging, and he certainly didn't want to end up like one of those trolls!

The group plodded on through the mist-touched trees.

The misty figure overhead, having eavesdropped on this conversation, returned to the place where her allies waited. "They are not far ahead of us.  We could catch them today, if _one_ of our number would pick up his lumbering human feet," Naia snapped and glared at the wyvern-man.  Alemo glared straight back at her.  D'saani glared vaguely at everything in his path.  "Are you _never_ going to make a move against them?" the woman Mazoku continued.  "First, they were too close to the city, then the forest was too dense, then the rain hampered your ability to see three feet beyond your stupid, procrastinating beak!  Some assassin you're turning out to be!  If Mistress had only let us, we would have disposed of both you and them long ago!"

Alemo stared the Mazoku down.  "A good assassin knows how to bide his time, waiting… until the perfect opportunity arises."

"A better one would know not to bide too much of it," the woman chided in return.  "They'll have reached this canyon they're searching for well before we ever reach them!"  She tossed her hair in a flustered gesture.

"Canyon?  Hmm…."

"Why do you refuse to attack them?!" the frustrated Mazoku screeched at him.

Alemo narrowed his eyes at her and let loose the irritated sigh he had been holding.  "Because.  I know that there is not a chance in all the four worlds that we can beat them, especially if we go after all six of them at once.  I've fought alongside them, and I can tell you, each one possesses exceptional power, even the young princess and the dimwitted swordsman… even my half sister.  I've faced her in battle and she all but tore me to pieces, would have had I not shocked her with news about our father.  And you seem to forget, though I keep telling you, that I need my sister and the book she carries, the only link to my father's whereabouts.

Naia's smug silence was much too long.  "You're afraid of them.,"

"I am not," he answered back, too quickly.

A low rumble issued from D'saani, an irritated sounding of thunder.  Alemo took it as a warning against quibbling with the womanly Mazoku, though she read it in another way.

"What is it?"

"You mentioned a canyon?"

"Yes, why?"

"It is not far off."

Naia waited for him to continue his thought.  It was like waiting for the tide to come in.  "Yes, and?" she finally prompted.  Alemo took the opportunity to take the bottle of deadly oil out of his hip-pouch and examine it in the sun.

No expression arose on the hulking Mazoku's face, no tone entered his voice, yet the malicious intent was clear when he finished, "It will make an ideal trap.  A good opportunity to split their ranks."

Alemo shifted an eye up toward D'saani's shoulders.  "Don't know what you've got in mind, old boy, but it sounds promising enough for me."  He returned the phial to his pouch and rose to his feet, then reached up as high as he could manage and clapped the  Mazoku on the back.  "By all means, lead the way."

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: Beedoo!'s Place (look me up, I'm the only one with a !)

Well, this update's taken two months, but at least it's progress, huh?  Even better, I've got another chapter in my back pocket, waiting to be typed in!  So expect it soon! (on a relative geologic time scale, of course… ;)

Thanks, Lina Gabriev, badgerwolf, and Diana-sama for reviews!

LG, no worries!  Lina and Gourry moments soon!  They probably won't be as fleshed out as the rest, since I'm concentrating on the other five main chars… this _is_ a rather back-burner story for them.  And don't think I'm building up characters to have them killed off!  Not me! ;D  

Badg Perceptive, yes… but he's also got a thousand years of experience under his belt! ;)

D-sama You read it all at once?!  Erg!  I can't even do that, and I wrote it!  Sorry it's not finished… but take into consideration that it's taken me since summer 2001 to get this far!  The end is looming somewhere on the horizon, but expect a few more tribulations in the meantime. ;)

Jaa ne!


	36. Chapter 35: Once too slow, now too rapid...

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 35: Once too slow, now too rapid

Xellos shucked off his bedroll, glaring at it when it shed the night's condensation all over his feet.  Zelgaddis's bedding lay unoccupied, but Gourry was still asleep in his, so Xellos dressed quickly, threw his poncho over his shoulders, and exited the tent.  He yawned by way of greeting the sunrise, looked around, then ambled over to the fireside where Mayaki was busily rolling out biscuits on a board on her lap.

She looked up, hearing someone stirring.  "Morning!"

He quirked a smile at her.  "Just like a little bird, up with the dawn every morning!"

She shook her head at him, but laughed appreciatively.  "I've always had to be up early in order to get things done for the day, before…" sadness grazed her features.  Xellos didn't have to ask to know that she was thinking of her troubled life.  Zip-zop, and another four biscuits fell onto her apron.  She arranged them carefully in her favorite stew pot and set them over the coals.  Dusting her hands off on her apron, she changed the subject, unspoken though it had been,  "So, what was the dream last night?'

                Xellos crossed his legs and sat beside her, stretching his arms behind his head.  "Mother took me to the local priests, to have my aptitudes tested.  He chuckled slightly.  "I doubt they expected what I had to offer."

                "Oh yeah?"

                He nodded.  "I could cast some pretty high-level spells, for being nine.  And a few spells that I hadn't ever heard before, I mastered in minutes.  "They told Mother, 'He's powerful. He must be educated in the magic arts at once!'  Mother didn't want me to go, for some reason, but the priests convinced her that she was doing the right thing by giving me up to them.  They said that it was better to have me trained early, so that I wouldn't be a Dragon Slave run wild…" He added in a whisper, "…like a certain sorceress we know."  Mayaki tried not to giggle, hiding her smile behind her hand.  "So they put me in a training program.  But I didn't need their training.  My magic was above the level of some of the journeyman sorcerers and sorceresses.  And just before I woke up, they introduced me to another boy, a couple of years older than me.  I don't remember what his name was, but he didn't look too keen on my being there.  I think because I'd just outdone him, or something."

                "Hm," the girl replied.  "Well, that explains a little bit, like that big spell you used against that Tamric guy…"she mused.  "Do you remember any more spells yet?"

                The priest shook his head.  "Not yet, not really.  But I know they're in there somewhere, waiting to be unlocked."

                Mayaki nodded, guessing that she understood, mostly anyway.  "Are… are you still worried?"

                "Worried?"

                "About your memories returning, especially the bad ones."

                He hung his head, but only slightly.  "There isn't a day that goes by or an evening that set in that I don't worry about those memories coming back to me fully, but there's nothing I can do to stop them from coming or block them out.  I have to accept that I was the one who instigated and accomplished these horrible acts, but I choose to see it, now, that I was another person then.  Someone else, another part of my soul, or a previous incarnation of sorts.  I've been given another chance, to live my life right."  He stroked his chin thoughtfully.  "So no, I'm not worried exactly, but…"

                "But?" she offered tenderly. 

                "Not worried.  But afraid, and ashamed.  I can't even imagine the extent of…"

                "Mmm.." she sighed with him.

                After a moment of tense silence, in which both tried to come up with a lighter matter of discussion, Xellos decided to bring up his tent-mate's whereabouts.  

                "Oh, he's gone scouting ahead for us.  You think I'm an early riser?  He left just after I got up."

                Xellos smirked.  "He's getting really anxious."

"Well, wouldn't you be, if you were in his place?  He's waited a long time to find this cure… and me, every morning, I feel like I'm bubbling over.  I can't wait to get there, to see if it's real or not."

                He nodded, then paused a moment to turn a thought over in his mind.  "Do you think you really need a cure?"

                She was turning the biscuits out of the pan and onto another clean apron.  "What?"  She looked up, pan still in her hands, and could only blink at him in shock.

                "your disposition has been a lot…mh, sunnier, lately," he said, choosing his words carefully.  "Maybe, since you're not feeding it, the Mazoku in you is slowly starting to die off."

                Mayaki bit her lip.  Tears leapt into her eyes, and she ducked, trying to keep him from seeing them.

                "Mayaki?"  He reached toward her, but she suddenly snapped her head up and glared at him, watery drops still clinging to the corners of her eyes.

                "Don't ever say that to me again!" she half-shouted at him.  "Every day it takes all my will to push that part of me down, and it sits there, waiting for some opportunity to take hold of me again.  That's why I need to find my father!"

                The priest looked abashedly toward her.  "Hm, I hadn't considered that.  I'm sorry."  He ran a tender finger up the line of her jaw and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.  "Forgive me?"

                She sniffled once and sighed.  "Of course I do," she admitted with a small laugh, and wondered how his every word could manage to change her mood so rapidly.

                "I still love you," he whispered in her ear, and kissed her on the forehead.

                She blushed demurely.  "Thank you," she mumbled, slipping her arms around his back, clinging to him tightly.  

                He returned the embrace, stroking her hair lightly, giving her the comfort she needed.  "It's all right… it's all right…"

                A few moments later, their private time was interrupted by Lina and Gourry, who emerged from their separate tents simultaneously.

                "Good morning!" both called at the same time, looking at each other afterwards with strange glances.  

                "Did you guys plan that?" Mayaki asked dryly.

                Lina stared at her blond companion.  "Actually, we didn't.  which makes it really weird."

                "Not that weird," Gourry corrected, "considering how long we've been travelling around together and getting up at the same time."

                "Eh?" the sorceress responded, but Gourry took no notice of her confusion.  The swordsman plucked up two biscuits from Mayaki's spread apron and immediately handed one to Lina.  She tore it in half and took a bite out of the top part.  "Ahh, nothing like a hot, sweet biscuit in the morning… especially if it's with eggs and bacon and pancakes and sausage…"

                "Don't count on it, Lina," Mayaki warned, extracting herself from Xellos's embrace.

                "Darn," Lina pouted.  "Oh well, at least I can have something sweet.  Pass the jam."

"You finished it off yesterday," Xellos pointed out.  

                Lina looked slightly miffed.  "Well, pass the honey, then."

                "Ran out two days ago," Mayaki said, poking at the coals with a stick. "Also thanks to you."

                "Cinnamon and sugar?"

                "Little bit of cinnamon left, no sugar."

                The petite redhead growled.  "Fine, I'll just have some butter, then."  Silence hung thick in the air.  "No, don't tell me, we used up the butter on the potatoes last night, right?"

                "Yep," Xellos nodded.

                "Ohhh, it just figures," she complained, being sure she could be heard a mile in all directions.    
"Here I've got the best chef in the world at my disposal, and no ingredients for her to cook with!"  she crossed her legs and threw herself down on the ground with a thump, ate a shred of biscuit and slouched down with her head in her hand.  "I could just about kill for something sweet!"

                At that moment, the girls' tent rustled and Amelia emerged, yawning widely.  "Good morning everyone!" she announced cheerfully.  "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"

                Lina's head dropped into her lap.  "The gods hate me, don't they?" she mumbled.

                "Huh?" the princess asked.  "What's wrong, Miss Lina?"

                Xellos clapped his hands slowly.  "Perfect timing, Amelia.  Perfect."

                Despite her continued confusion, Amelia snagged herself a biscuit, then secured another for her stone beau.  "Where's Mister Zelgaddis?  Didn't he get up this morning?" she asked, then began to panic.  "He's not sick is he?"

                "Chill out, Amelia.  He'll be back before long," Lina brushed her off.

                Gourry corrected her.  "Actually, here he comes now."  

                The sorceress looked around, perked up her ears, and still heard and saw nothing.  *How on earth does Gourry do that?* she wondered.

                Seconds later, the blue and beige blur that was Zelgaddis whipped into their camp like a bolt of lightning.  As he stopped dead in his tracks, the wake of dust and wind he'd generated flew into the seated group, causing everyone to shield their faces and food and complain at Zel loudly.  He smiled lightly in amusement.  "Sorry.  You all have got to see this place!" he said with unprecedented excitement.  "It's…" he searched for words, "…it's mind-blowing!"

                "You found the canyon?" Mayaki all but demanded, springing to her feet.

                Zel nodded.  "I'd say it's about half a day's journey at the normal rate we travel."

                "Hurray!" she bounced, clapping her hands.  "It's really there!  I was beginning to think we'd never make it out of this frigging forest!"

                "Well, I knew it would be there!" Amelia proclaimed.  "In a quest as just as ours is, we couldn't possibly be headed in the wrong direction.  The Spirit of Justice is our guide!"  The rest of the group merely stared at her.  "What?"

                Lina got up and retreated into the girls' tent to roll up her bedding, muttering something including the word "sweet" on the way in.

* * * * *

                The whole group stood at the edge, looking down and down…and further down, at layers upon layers of multicolored rocks and formations that edged the enormous canyon.  A tiny green trickle of river marked the bottom, barely a thread from their vantage point.  

                "Ohhh, it's so pretty!" Amelia finally gasped, breaking their awed silence.  

                "I guess we should have expected something grand if even Zelgaddis was in awe of it," Xellos noted.

                "Yeah," Lina echoed.  "Zel wouldn't make a fuss over any usual hole in the ground."

                Mayaki crossed her arms.  "You really can take the grandeur out of things sometimes, Lina."

"Oh, sorry," the girl replied, scratching her head, then looked down into the vast canyon again.  "I guess not having anything sweet with breakfast really puts a damper on me…"  Her eyes caught on something just over the canyon's rim, a large, rounded oval of bright pink, sprouting off the top of a flat, green paddle covered with spines.

"Lina?" Mayaki prompted when the sorceress failed to finish her sentence.  Lina's eyes fixed on the fruit and dilated.

"Miss Lina?" Amelia also prodded, at her friend's continued silence.

"Fruit!" she finally crowed, triumphantly leaping over the edge and casting a levitation spell.  "Yummy, sugary spinefruit!"  She squealed as she cut the pink ball loose with her dagger and sliced the prickly skin off.  She was all but singing as she bit into the flesh, succulent juice from the pulp dribbling down her chin.

"But… this isn't a desert," Gourry protested.  "Spineplants don't grow anyplace else, do they?  So what's this one doing at the edge of a forest?"

"Well, this is the western side of the canyon… it probably gets more sun and less water than the other side," Xellos stated matter-of-factly.

Gourry turned his head toward him.  "Sorry, did you just say something?"

The priest drooped.  "Never mind…"

"You're right, Xellos," Lina called as she swooped like a hummingbird to the next fruit.  "It's nice and warm down here, and out of the wind."

As if to illustrate her point, a numbing blast of air hit the group still standing on the rim.

"Maybe we should go down in," Amelia suggested.

"Sounds like as good an idea as any," Zelgaddis agreed, casting a Ray Wing and grabbing Gourry by the back of his shirt.  Amelia followed suit with a spell of her own, and Mayaki transformed into her wyvern form.  She allowed Xellos onto her back and began a slow, spiraling descent into the canyon, occasionally being carried back up over the lip by the warm updrafts.

Lina, with roughly thirty of the prickly ruby fruits gathered into her cape, looked over her shoulder as the tip of Mayaki's wing came within a few feet of her.  "Hey, wait!  I'm not done here yet!"  She waved a fist at them angrily.  As she did, the knot she had tied in her cape fell halfway apart, spilling bouncing, splattering fruits down into the vast ravine.  "No!  no!  Stop!" the girl screeched as half her store toppled away.

"There's bound to be more further down, Lina!  We'll see you at the bottom!" Xellos waved as they passed again.

"My fruit!" she wailed.  A small explosion followed.  One of the more unstable rock formations crumbled and fell into the depths.

* * * * *

Alemo and the two Mazoku stood on the rim, shortly after the miffed sorceress departed.  "Are we going in after them?" the human asked skeptically.  

"Don't be an ass," Naia chided.  "Really, for an assassin, I thought you would have figured it all out by now."

He snarled back, "I'm an assassin, not a psychic, and this 'plan' of yours, which you insist upon keeping me in the dark about, is hardly like any I've previously encountered, so please forgive me for not reading your minds."  He frowned bitterly at her.  She turned her nose up and grinned, soaking in the negative emotions.  

"Never you mind that," she breezed.  "Just make sure you get downstream and find Xellos, whether D'saani takes care of him first or not."

"Whatever you intend to do is your business, but I want my half-sister left alive, or at the very least to have that book of hers recovered.  Understood?"

"Clear as ice," Naia assured him smoothly, yet somehow the reassurance of a Mazoku was less than comforting.

* * * * * 

Mayaki reverted to human form and fell the last six feet of her descent, Xellos toppling off her back in the process.  With a yelp, he landed butt-first in the soft riverbed sand.  The wyvern-girl managed to keep her feet as she landed in a crouch.  She stood up, angrily dusting fireball soot of her right arm.  "Are you out of your mind?!  You could've killed us!" she shouted at the little witch.

"You made me drop my food, and that's completely inexcusable!" Lina fired back at her.

"Maybe if you'd stop thinking about your stomach once in a while, you'd realize that if you'd hit either of us, our map would be injured or dead!"  She jabbed a sharp finger in Xellos's direction.

"He's fine, and don't you go making Xellos your excuse for being careless!"

"Careless?!  Who's the careless one here?  Why, if I…"

Zelgaddis, Gourry, Xellos, and Amelia watched from the sidelines, eyes shifting from one combatant to the other, quick as a game of Brass Racquets, until the two stopped taking turns hollering and started competing for a dominance of volume, each screaming furiously over the top of the other.

"Miss Lina… Miss Mayaki… Miss Lina…"  Amelia couldn't get a word in edgewise to calm either of them down.

Gourry contemplated something for a second, then volunteered rather absently, "Hmm.  Maybe it's both their time of the month."

"What did you just say?!" they both screamed at him in unison and began pounding the poor swordsman into a fine paste.

"Oh, for…" Zelgaddis started to say, but stopped as a faint sound reached his sensitive ears over the girls' and Gourry's yelling.  "What…"

Amelia stared at the chimaera or a second, watching his expression alter.  He wasn't watching the fight… it looked as if he was listening for something.  She tried to listed past the three screaming banshees without any luck.  The whole situation was getting on her nerves.  She balled up her fists and took a deep breath.  "QUIE-YET!"

The three froze in place, shocked by the polite little princess's sudden burst of assertiveness.  

Zelgaddis took the opportunity to focus on what he had heard before.  "Do you hear that?" he asked cautiously. 

"Hear what?" Lina asked, reluctant to say anything.

"Sh," Zel stopped her.

"I hear it," Gourry said, after a moment.

"Me too," Mayaki added quietly, straining to listen.

"It sounds like ocean waves," Amelia guessed quietly.  "Maybe we're close to the sea."

Xellos shook his head.  "The ocean isn't anywhere near here.  Otherwise, this canyon wouldn't exist."

"Maybe a waterfall then?"

"No, everything's too level…"

Zelgaddis looked over to the surface of the river.  "It's getting louder."  The surface of the calm water rippled violently, then seemed to surge backward.  A dark cloud of mist blocked the sun.  "Oh gods…" he exclaimed, then grabbed Amelia's wrist.  "Everyone fly, quick!  Get up as high as you—"

He was cut off and his heart dropped into his stomach as the roar increased tenfold and the largest tidal wave he had ever seen rounded a corner and came straight at them.

**********************************************************************************

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: Beedoo!'s Place (look me up, I'm the only one with a !)

Thankees to Clover and PirateMych for reviews.

Special kudos to Mych for daring to criticize my characters!  One thing, Mych.. can you define "out there" for me (i.e. what's bugging you)?  That seems to apply to _all_ the Slayers in my opinion. ;)

Well, I've got a month off from school as of next week… start placing your bets now as to how many chapters I can get out. ;)


	37. Chapter 36: Splashdown!

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 36: Splashdown

The inland tidal-wave crashed through the canyon, fill the banks of the small river to overflowing immediately. Despite their best efforts to escape the flash flood, the six travelers were caught up in the powerful rush of water.

Zelgaddis kept his grip on Amelia tight, the force of the wave even bearing up and tossing his stone body around effortlessly. He saw the princess's terrified face once or twice as the furious waters whirled them end over end. Somehow he managed to get his free hand around a limestone outcropping and pulled Amelia toward the wall of the canyon. "Climb!" he told her as soon as she'd found a solid handhold.

"But..." she started, turning to look back at him, even as she obeyed his order. He began fighting against the current and gravity to pull himself up without losing his grip.

"Gotcha!" the sorceress sputtered and coughed as Gourry hauled her toward the closer edge of the canyon. He was lucky enough to have caught sight of her red hair as she almost sailed past, caught in an undertow. "Good thing you're so small," he told her, hoisting her onto higher ground. "Otherwise, you'd've been pulled down for sure."

She stared lovingly at him through the wet strands of orange that hung over her eyes. If she hadn't been coughing up water at the time, she might have had some witty retort ready to fire at him. But until she caught her breath, she was more than willing just to cling to him.

Mayaki powered herself up out of the water, looking more like a wet chicken than any proper water bird. She cursed to herself about the water and losing her companions as she hovered in place, scanning the current and both walls of the canyon for her friends.

"Xellos! Xellos, where are you? Lina? Zel??" she cried, swooping over the raging river. Of course, it came out as, "Shhhkkrreeeeii! Kawwwk!" but in her panic, she'd forgotten that none of them would understand her. Not that her voice-human or wyvern-could be heard over the roaring waters. Even so, her sharp ears picked up the slight shrill of a girl's voice. She flew downstream quickly, blinking at the upcast drops of water that hit her eyes.

A blast of wind knocked her head over tail, and she let out a squawk of both surprise and irritation. What the hell was that?! she thought, instants before another large wave (though not as large as the first) crashed through the canyon.

"Mister Zelgaddis!!" She heard Amelia's scream, closer this time, and determinedly powered herself forward, scanning the swells of the rapids and the nearer side of the canyon. There! She caught sight of the princess's ivory garb, standing out from the deep red of the rock. The girl, though holding fast to the rock, was struggling to keep her hold against the water that had risen up to her calves. Panic-stricken, she stared wide-eyed at the water.

"Kraaa!" the wyvern hailed as she adjusted her flight to float beside the little justice warrior.

"Mayaki!" she shouted, pointing frantically to the water. "Zelgaddis! The wave knocked him in! He can't swim!"

"Awk!" the wyvern responded, sounding half in a panic herself, but she executed a steep dive and plunging beneath the surface.

"Please find him, Mayaki, please find him..." she wailed, spurred more or less by her panic since Mayaki was already gone. Then she took a deep breath and began climbing once again. She might have even made some progress before a swell engulfed her and she lost her grip, carried away unseen.

The overwhelming speed of the current almost took Mayaki down the river before she even caught sight of her chimaeric compatriot. Despite the extra weight of his stone body, it was tumbling him along the bottom. Mayaki could only watch as he grabbed for a hand-hold on a firm boulder planted in the riverbed, only to be knocked loose-and unconscious-by another rock being propelled down the rapid flow.

NO! was her only thought as she angled herself toward the bottom and spread her wings, letting the current carry her faster to catch up to him. She found that the current required her to kick her legs and frequently alter the angle of her wings, which threatened to spin her off-course with any false move. Wyverns, she noted mentally, were designed for the air, not the water.

The stone man finally fetched up against an outcropping of rock-one of the strange-looking sandstone formations the group had marveled at earlier from above. Mayaki thanked Cephied that she was able to catch up at last as she angled herself toward the formation. She didn't want to collide with the pillar of rock as Zel had; if she got injured, there would be little chance she could save herself, much less Zelgaddis. Her best chance, she figured, would be to try to snag him as she was whisked past... but that didn't give her a lot of time. Half a second and she would be up to and past him. She aimed her claws to latch onto his shoulders, but missed. Half of her breath escaped out the sides of her beak, bubbling up and away with the river rush. Flailing as she was twirled around by the current, her claw bumped against his ankle, and she latched onto it. The extra weight underwater snapped her back around, nearly making her lose her grip on him. Trying to steady herself, she hooked her other foot around one of his arms. That did it. She regained her control in the current, turned herself around to face the oncoming water, and flung her wing open, using the added force to carry herself and her chimaera cargo to the surface. She took a deep gasp of the sweet air her lungs were crying for once she reached the surface. She turned back onto her stomach, using the river once again to help power them up out of the water.

The chimaera dangling limply from her claws in an undignified way, Mayaki swung around in the air, wings flapping wildly. Dear gods, he was heavy! She hadn't noticed it before, when she'd carried him through the Astral Plane... there was no weight there. Here, she found herself struggling with every wingbeat, losing inches without the added velocity from the floodwaters. She feared that his weight would eventually drag them both back into the drink as they dipped steadily back toward the water. NononononoNoNO! she shouted with an accompanying shriek. Only one option occurred to her now, and dangerous though it was, it looked like she would have to use it. She let herself fall into Astral space and easily soared upward.

Xellos kicked hard against the undertow that had him. Eventually he found the effort useless as he was whirled down to the bottom, then just as quickly cast back up to the surface and sped downstream. He did his best to keep his head up, though occasionally another waver came along and he was left with a mouth full of salt water.

Salt water? he thought, spitting it out as he kicked off from the crag the waters threatened to throw him into. This is an inland river... I'm sure of it. It's the one I've seen in my dream. So why is it...?

His eyes caught a flash of ivory and lavender. Amelia's gaze met his as he was whirled past. He saw her mouth the words "Mister Xellos" though he couldn't hear her voice over the steady roar. He would have tried to answer her had he not been thrown into a rock and lost his breath. One thing about being Mazoku, he thought, it was a lot less dangerous...

Amelia had been trying to save her strength. She had latched onto a passing knot of logs and debris as it floated past by luck alone, and she didn't want to chance losing her hold for favor of climbing up the canyon wall again. Yet when she saw Xellos in trouble, her first instinct was to come to the rescue, exhaustion or no.

"Levitation!" she cast, soaring up out of the water and grabbing his cape before he floated out of reach. He, meanwhile, could only clutch at the clasp which threatened to cut off his already short supply of air. The girl managed to fly them to a high ledge, where both collapsed, panting. "Are you all right, Mister Xellos?" she queried, habitually worrying about the other person's welfare before her own.

The priest coughed a few times. "Fine, I think. Thank you, Amelia."

"Sure, anytime," the girl answered, then screamed as a gigantic tsunami appeared, towering over them. Xellos followed her gaze, turning over to catch sight of the wave looming above. It moved against the flow of the current, instead seeming to aim straight for them. More disturbing was the fact that it seemed to be staring at them.

Worse yet, through its emotionless exterior, it seemed to be smiling to itself.

No... Xellos mused. Not smiling. _Smirking_.

Mayaki dropped Zelgaddis's unresponsive body to the ground, just over the lip of the canyon. It had taken her all of a half second to reach the top, travelling through the Astral plane. No monsters had taken notice of her, as far as she could tell. But currently, her concentration was focused on another matter entirely.

"Zelgaddis, wake up," she pleaded, her voice containing more than a note of irritation at his refusal to cooperate. "Wake up, Zel!" She kicked his roughly in the side, still receiving no response. "Dammit, Zel, if you don't get up, Amelia's going to have my hide! Now get up!" Tears of rage fought their way into her eyes. "Zelgaddis Greywords, GET! UP!" She kicked him harder this time, sending him onto his stomach, though he still lay lifeless at her feet. She'd bruised her toes through her boot doing it, but she was too enraged at the moment to feel the pain. "Zel, you selfish son of a bitch, don't you die!" She pounded both fists on his hard back mercilessly, repeating the motion as she worked herself into a tantrum. "No dying...mmph!...is allowed...mmph!...while I'm around, you hear me?!...mmph!" Standing up, almost blind with panic, she screamed at him. "Goddamnit, Zel, Amelia told me to save you and I'm not giving up on you, so get with the program and BREATHE, you stupid bastard!" She jammed the heel of her boot between his shoulder blades as hard as she could. The chimaera man coughed and spit up water, then continued to choke and wheeze as his lungs traded water for air.

"Amelia," he managed to gasp, righting himself.

"Right. I've got her. Sit tight." The wyvern girl didn't want to admit that she'd almost forgotten about rescuing Amelia as well. Nevertheless, the little princess of justice was first priority now. Mayaki flung herself off the cliff at a dead run, before she even transformed.

The tsunami seemed to pause, victorious in its smirk.

Unfortunately for the wave, it was up against someone who had perfected the smirk aver the past thousand years. Something without facial expressions was not going to out-smirk Xellos. He stood as he smiled his unnerving, unwavering smile back at it. Amelia shrieked again somewhere behind him as the tsunami crested and fell at them. She ducked, shielding her head with her hands, just as Xellos raised a hand toward the water. "Demona Kurista!"

The water instantly iced up, with the odd spike here and icicle there. The princess uncovered her eyes as the roar of the water ceased, replaced by a crisp crackling. She stared at the frozen wave. It seemed to look back with a surprised and baffled expression.

Xellos made a few more hand motions, readying another spell. "Nice effort," he declared callously, "But not foolproof. Lah Tilto!"

The wave seemed to screech as it burst into thousands of tiny, salty ice chips.

Amelia watched the bits float downstream and melt. "It was a monster?"

The priest nodded. "One of Dolphin's, I'd wager."

The two sat on their embankment, drenched and exhausted, wringing out what parts of their clothes that decency would allow for. The water level dropped slowly as the great amounts of water flowed away, until the river was reduced back to its former slow trickle.

"I haven't seen any of the others go by yet...Do you think they're okay, Mister Xellos?"

The priest slapped his soaked poncho against the rock wall. He wished he could give her a certain answer. The one she would want would be full of hope, love, and justice. Xellos wasn't up to giving her that... it wasn't his style. No, that wasn't it, not entirely. He was worried about Mayaki. "I hope so, Amelia."

"What are we going to do?"

His eyes formed into their customary squint as he thought. "Hmm. We'll wait here for them for as long as we can, but if they don't show by tomorrow, we'll have to go on, find supplies, then we'll go back the way we came. I'll escort you back to Seyruun, and then..."

"Then?"

He sighed. "I don't know."

Amelia sensed his depression setting in and grabbed his hand. "Don't give up yet, Mister Xellos! Everyone has to be all right, even Miss Mayaki!"

Xellos stared at her. Her steadfast hope was refreshing, and he had a hard time hiding his amusement. "How can you be so confident about it?"

She smiled humbly. "I just remembered something. They're all too stubborn to die."

The priest rook his chin in his hand. "That is very true..."

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: Beedoo!'s Place (look me up, I'm the only one with a !)

I'm not giving up on this story yet, dangit, despite a serious shortage of free time! The good new is, this chapter turned out so long, I had to break it up... so I'll post the second half of it in about a week or so. :)

Lina Gabriev and all you other L/G fans, thanks for your patience. I know this is a tiny L/G snippet... there's larger bits in the next chapter, and more to come later on. ;) Sit tight!


	38. Chapter 37: Wet situations make for good...

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 37: Wet situations make for good conversations

"Wow, Lina! Look at that!" Gourry pointed outward from where they were sitting, catching their breath after levitation to the rim opposite of their starting point.

"Wow," the sorceress repeated, staring out at the canyon, which was rapidly filling with a thick mist. "That's not a good sign."

"What do you mean?"

Lina began wringing her hair out as she spoke. "Well, Gourry, that's an awful lot of water in the air. The sun's almost started to set, which means that all this water in the air is first going to get really cold, and then fall on us. We're soaked through already and probably not going to get much drier before night, and we've lost almost all of our gear. So essentially, we run the risk of freezing."

"We'd better get a fire going then, hadn't we?"

"It's not going to be that easy, Gourry. Wet wood doesn't burn well."

The blonde swordsman handed her a piece of wood. "How about this one? Here's another one. And another." He began building a small pile of perfectly dry kindling in Lina's arms. The sorceress twitched, looking frustrated.

"What? Wait a minute!" She stood up and examined her surroundings: the bushes, the scrubby low trees, the hard, baked dirt. "It…it's all completely dry…Weird," she said to herself. "Maybe it just rained really hard somewhere upstream…"

"Do you think it was rain from the ocean?" Gourry interrupted her thought.

She turned her head to stare back at him. "What are you talking about?"

"It's salty, like the ocean. Look." He raised his arm for her to look at the grainy white crust that had formed there.

Out of curiosity, Lina stuck her tongue out and licked her upper lip. Salt. Vague suspicions entered her mind. "That's not natural. That had to have been an ambush… but by who?"

"Another monster?"

"Yeah, probably," she replied nonchalantly. "We'll have to keep our guard up. In the meantime, let's get that firewood together and try to find some food."

"Right."

"Zel? I can't see you…Where are you?"

"This way," the chimaera called. "Where is Amelia? Is she with you?"

Mayaki finally found him in all the fog. She grasped his arms as if he was the only thing she had left to hang onto. "I couldn't find her," she groaned. "She wasn't anywhere near where you fell in, and I didn't hear any response to my calls either."

Zelgaddis's heart plummeted. "You didn't… She isn't…" he attempted, unable to complete either sentence. Mayaki turned away, shielding her eyes from the burning inquiry in his own, instead examining the scuff marks on her boots.

"I'm sorry… I tried… She just wasn't there." She clenched her teeth and her fists, determined not to cry, but having to fight it all the way. An unwanted sob racked through her as she turned further away from his wounded and heartbroken countenance, though if she had watched his face, she would not have seen a trace of accusation in it… only a deep loss. Swords could not penetrate the chimaera-man, but love, and loss…

Zel could only collapse to the ground, dumbfounded at the news. It had to be a nightmare, had to be, rivaling only the recurrent dreams of Rezo cackling and the dissonant clang of staff rings. He'd often told himself that it would be impossible to have relations beyond friendship with the little princess, had at one point resigned himself to being lonely for the rest of his life. But recently, the idea of being with her had seemed more possible, more plausible. Her presence alone had restored some tiny measure of hope to him—Is that what that is? he had thought—and it had brought about the ability for them to show outward signs of affection for each other. His stone body was the only obstacle between them these days. In a strange sort of way, his curse was what had brought them together. Without it, he would never have met Lina or Gourry, and through them, Amelia. And even when his hope in finding his cure dwindled, he would have Amelia's cheerful demeanor and welcoming heart to fall back on, to come back to.

Somehow, he had envisioned her as always being there, whether he found his cure or not.

"Oh gods," he said almost inaudibly after reality had sunk in, a void consuming his numb spirit. She couldn't be gone… couldn't be. Mayaki was losing the battle with her tears again, sobbing freely now into the palms of her hands. Zel wanted to tell her that it wasn't her fault for not finding the princess, but he had barely found the strength to utter those two words. There were times when one had to attend one's own wounds before those of others. "Oh gods," he said again, "Amelia…"

"Xellos…" Mayaki mewled, echoing Zel's sense of loss. "Zel, what will we do? What will we do if they're gone?" She all but flung herself into his arms. She certainly would have thrown herself to the ground had he not happened to be in the way.

The stone man likewise combated to keep his emotions in check, but, holding a girl who was weeping uncontrollably over the ones they cared about, lost and possibly dead, even Zelgaddis's stolid demeanor cracked. "I…I don't…" His face wrenched, finally losing out to grief. Be strong! he chided himself. Be strong!

But that was what he had asked for so long ago.

Enough with being strong! Who could deny him the right to not be strong at a time like this? He let the tears burn his eyes, and welcomed them. There was reason enough for them.

Amelia finally voiced the thought that had been running through her mind for the past hour, since sunset. "It's getting awfully cold, isn't it?"

Xellos nodded with a downhearted "Hmmm." The sun had been too far to the west to do much by way of drying their drenched clothing, and the damp mist that had invaded the canyon wasn't helping either. The fact that both of them were still wet as a herring when the sun was blocked out and night fell didn't improve their moods any. Xellos allowed himself a little glance at Amelia. To preserve the princess's modesty, he had avoided looking at her until full dark, just in case he might see something reserved for Zelgaddis rather than himself. He blushed a little at the thought of the cream-colored material of Amelia's outfit clinging wetly to her full chest, and immediately decided to turn his attention elsewhere. Now, after dark, he was probably out of harm's way, relatively speaking.

He shifted around on their little rocky ledge, scooting toward the Seyruun princess. "Forgive me for being pretentious, Amelia, but if we huddle together, we'll stay warmer."

"M…Mister Xellos?" Amelia replied nervously, even thought she knew his intent was pure. And, after all, it was better to chance a little embarrassment than freeze to death due to modesty. She overcame her shyness and sidled up to him. He put his arm around her shoulders and tossed his cape—wet, but it would help keep their body heat in nonetheless—around them both. He was right, it did help, just a little. She didn't feel nearly as shivery.

Continuing the small talk that brought her comfort, she finally dared to ask, "Mister Xellos, What were the spells you cast this afternoon? I didn't recognize many of the words, but they sounded like a Demonic Crystal spell and a Ra Tilt…They were a lot more powerful, though."

Xellos was silent for nearly a full minute. Amelia began to wonder if he'd heard her, or if he'd fallen asleep. She was about to ask again when he finally answered her. "I hadn't even noticed, until you mentioned it, Amelia," he said. "The spells are basically the same, except that I leaned the words in the old language."

"Is that what makes the difference?" She turned her head up toward his, awaiting his answer.

"I suppose so, yes. Since our language has shifted so far away from what it once was, the spells have lost a lot of their potential power. Some of the shift came about with the changes that come naturally with every language, and some of them came from the little stylistic twists each spell-caster has added over the ages."

"Stylistic twists?" Amelia encouraged, not noticing the chill in the air as much, her mind occupied.

"Yes. The positioning of the hands during the spell, the different wordings, even the intonation you use can effect the power behind the spell. So long as the basic elements of the spell are used it will work, in greater or lesser degrees."

The girl tapped a finger on her lips. "I don't think my mentors ever mentioned anything about the wording." She thought of something else. "I know three different ways to cast a Ra Tilt…does that mean that one of those ways is more powerful than the others?"

"Probably so," the priest answered. "There's not really a way to test this sort of thing, unless you have a lot of monsters around to practice on, I'd imagine. And even so, the version of the spell I know is more powerful than any of yours, since it's closer to the original. I'm almost certain now that the original spell must have been twice as powerful as the one I know."

"So a spell like Miss Lina's Dragon Slave could have been even more devastating?"

Xellos nodded. "About three times more powerful if she used the original form, the Dragon-Slayer… or the Giga-Slave, the God-Slayer."

"God Slayer? Who would create such an awful spell??"

"Who do you think? Those who seek to end the existence of the gods, and the world. Shaburanigudo, the Monster Race, and their followers among the humans."

The pair of them sat there in the dark in silence for a few moments. Amelia thought offhand, "Gee… I hope Miss Lina never finds the original words. She'd probably take over the world or something."

Xellos smirked. "I think Lina's only real purpose is to get rich quick. I won't tell her if you don't."

"Deal," the girl replied with a yawn. She hadn't realized that her fatigue and the warmth from their bodies were catching up to her. A moment more and her head was bobbing against Xellos's shoulder as she dropped off to sleep.

Xellos moved his eyes to look down at her and smiled, but sighed, wishing he knew that Mayaki was all right.

The sorceress stared sleepily into the flames of their campfire. Gourry snoozed contentedly beside her, still sitting upright. Lina smirked at how the swordsman could sleep through just about anything. I guess when you don't have a lot on your mind, it's easier to sleep…and Gourry _never_ has anything on _his_ mind!

She turned her attention to the canyon, barely visible through the thick mist. That attack—she was sure now that it had been an attack—had taken them completely unaware and unprepared. If it wasn't for Gourry, she might have drowned down there herself, and she worried that the others hadn't had as much luck as she had. But it would be morning before they got the chance to regroup, and who knew how long that would take? She sighed, downhearted. "I hope they're all okay," she muttered, out loud, but to herself.

"Me too, Lina," said the familiar voice from her right. She turned to look at him.

"I'm sorry, Gourry. I didn't mean to wake you up."

"You didn't," he reassured. "I did that on my own."

"Hm," Lina smiled, realizing how much she appreciated his company tonight.

In almost one motion, the two scooted closer together, Lina resting her head against Gourry's broad chest. "This is almost like that time in the desert when we were looking for the Claire Bible manuscript," she observed. "Hey, Gourry, do you remember that at all?" It wasn't in her usual demanding tone; this time it contained more tender curiosity than irritation.

The swordsman thought hard for a moment. There were times when he really wished he could remember some of the things Lina asked him to. "Maybe," he replied finally, not really sure that he knew at all what she was talking about, but not totally willing to be subjected to one of Lina's drawn-out explanations.

Lina wasn't miffed, and added, "Well, I do. It was when I asked you how long you intended to be my protector, and you said, 'forever, I guess.'"

"Oh yeah," he seemed to remember.

She stared back into the campfire embers. "Well, um…" she started, then stopped again. "Don't fall asleep this time, 'kay, Gourry? I have some stuff to ask you about."

"Sure. What is it?"

The sorceress fiddled with her fingers for a moment before continuing. She wasn't certain she really wanted to hear his answers if it wasn't the ones she wanted to hear. "Um… this is gonna sound really dumb, but… what did you mean? About staying with me forever," she reiterated quickly, in case he'd forgotten what they were talking about already, which was highly plausible.

"I mean, I'll stay with you and keep you safe as long as I live."

"No, no!" she brayed back at him, pleading rather than antagonistic. "What I mean is, are you staying around me _just_ to protect me? Is that the only reason, or is there something else, too?" …because I know how I feel about you, Gourry, but I'm not going to admit it unless you do first, she added to herself. I'm not going to act on something I'm seeing that may or may not be there. Maybe I'm just seeing what I want to see between us.

Gourry's face turned slightly hurt, like a puppy hit with a roll of parchment. "Don't you know, Lina?"

Oh, crap…what did I say? she thought, her face draining of some of its color, but he continued before she had a chance to explain herself further.

"Don't you know that I love you, and I wasn't to spend the rest of my life with you?"

Lina's eyes shone with held-back tears. "Oh, Gourry!" She fell into his arms, sobbing, overwhelmed with joy.

Gourry nearly panicked, having a crying girl hurl herself at him. That had only happened once before, he vaguely remembered, when someone had been making fun of Sylphiel, and she came wailing to him. He hadn't really known what to do then, either. "Don't cry, Lina! Please don't cry! I didn't mean anything by it…" He wondered if he should start running or at least be prepared to dodge a spell if she blasted him one.

The petite girl sniffled a little and gazed up at him. He was so alarmed by this uncharacteristic behavior of hers—the Lina he knew never cried, and would call anyone who did a wimp—and he looked so completely stunned and helpless that in that moment, she couldn't help but laugh at him, in a weird sort of transition from a sob to giggles. Eventually, the blonde swordsman realized what the little redhead was carrying on about, and his laughter joined hers.

Together they spread out her cloak to use as a groundsheet, curled up together and shared the one blanked Lina had salvaged from their destroyed packs.

"This is pointless…" Alemo grumbled as he landed and transformed, back at the same place he'd started from. Naia must have figured that the dense fog would add to their quarry's confusion. It had most likely done just that, since it had certainly disoriented himself innumerable times while he searched for any sign of the travelers' whereabouts.

He'd seen, a few miles south, where the high ridges of the canyon tapered down , where the river bent to flow toward the eastern sea, bits a pieces of their wrecked equipment—tent and bedroll fabric, Gourry's pack, some of his half-sister's cooking implements, and several loose spineplant fruits, all strewn along the riverbed, littering nearly a mile and a half of the drying canyon floor. Yet no remnants of the intended victims lay among the wreckage. Perhaps it was just that the bodies had not been carried that far downstream, as could surely be the case with the stone man. No bodies meant no certainty of death, and that meant that any one of their number could still pose a threat to reaching his objective.

"Naia!" he called, still grumbling to himself that he had failed to find his targets. The mist gathered itself up out of the canyon, coalescing as the Mazoku's more-human form. She finger-combed her flowing hair as if the effort of extending herself across such a distance for so long had depleted her somehow.

"Did you finish them off?" she asked impatiently. "Where is D'saani?"

"I haven't seen him. Of course, through that mist of yours, who can see anything?" he snorted. "I could have been a foot away from him and not known it, especially for as quiet as he is…"

Naia glared condescendingly at him. "Which can only mean that you haven't managed to exterminate that pest Xellos yet, am I wrong?"

"You'd be correct on that point." He sat on a rock, removed his boots, and stretched his toes out casually.

"You, a trained assassin, couldn't find your victim in a little fog?" she accused, tossing her hair and setting a hand on her hip in one seductive ripple of motion. "Even through the Astral plane, you didn't find him. I'm beginning to doubt your fidelity to my mistress, Alemo."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Tch—" The Mazoku blinked repeatedly, then assessed him with a flat look. "You don't know how to use the Astral plane."

"No. I was raised by a human mother, as you'll recall. Not much call for Astral planing if you're a laundry-maid."

She sighed pure irritation. "A minor detail that could cause us a few days' setback. But, if I have to train you, then so be it."

Alemo sat for another moment, then reached for his pack and pulled out some crusty bread and a left-over roast brushquail. "What about your associate?"

Naia fluffed her hair, indifferent. "If he's not on the Astral plane, and he isn't or I would have found him, and he's not back here yet, he's probably gotten himself killed."

"Oh, that's a pity," he replied sincerely. Monster or not, D'saani was a powerful ally to have on his side. Nevertheless, he added sharply, "I thought maybe you had a thing for him, or he had one for you."

The Mazoku narrowed her eyes at him. "Mazoku do not have 'things.'"

Alemo couldn't help laughing at her response. "Well. Sounds like the Monster Race really got the short end of the stick. I can see why you're so cranky all the time." He held his hands up defensively, despite the fact that she refused to look at him, or anywhere in his general direction. "Not to be blunt," he added, and chuckled to himself, eating his brushquail.

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: Beedoo!'s Place (look me up, I'm the only one with a !)

I apologize for the title of this one, I really do. o.0;; I ALSO apologize profusely for the lack of updatage! I suppose my only reason for hanging onto this chapter so long is that I didn't have anything after it, and just today broke through my writer's block. So expect more, and expect it sooner than the last update! (and complain at me for not updating.. that'll _really_ get me moving!)

Twingirl I hope to get to the meat of your question in the next chapter or two, now that I have it hashed out! ;) But in general terms, in this universe, there's more than one way to make a Mazoku! Also, thanks for the compliment… I'd love to see this as a season of Slayers too… but, since I don't see tat happening, the best I can do it write it to be one. ;)

Clover Thanks for being so patient, and for reading more than once! O.o Wow. Hope I haven't destroyed your confidence in me with this bloody long wait!

Thanks, Lina Gabriev, Shizari, and the rest of you out there for reviewing and being faithful! ;) I DO love hearing what you all have to say! (Even if you DON'T like the story… how'm I gonna know if nobody says anything?? See review button? Clickie review button! ;)


	39. Chapter 38: Just right Or just all right

Mazoku of My Dreams

written by Beedoo!

Chapter 38: Just right... Or just all right...

The sun hung high overhead by the time Mayaki awoke. Despite the chill of the vapor in the air, she had fallen into a sound but troubled sleep. The dreadful fog had gone, leaving the air tasting cool and fresh. The wyvern girl sat up, looking around. Zelgaddis was already awake, sitting on a rock and staring out over the cliff forlornly. Mayaki's thoughts flashed to Xellos, then to the lost princess. She heaved a broken sigh, but found that she was still too exhausted for tears. Zel, she suspected, was in a similar condition.

"Where will we be going?" she asked when he looked over to acknowledge her. Small talk this morning would have been unacceptable, not to mention ignored.

"Have we got any food?" he asked after a long moment.

"I can always catch us a rabbit or two along the way..."

The chimaera nodded. "The way I see it," he said slowly, "we've got to keep going. Our cures, if they exist, are still out there, and Elric is still our best hope of attaining them. Besides, Amelia would want me to make sure that you're well looked-after. And if she knew I'd given up, she would never forgive me."

"You'd get the justice speech of a lifetime," Mayaki agreed with a giggle. "Are you sure you can handle all that looking after me?"

Zel smiled and stood, then helped her to her feet as well. "I'll manage." He turned back toward the canyon. "I suppose we'll just follow the edge until things flatten out..."

Mayaki sighed again. "I wish I hadn't lost the book," she said, traipsing after him.

"It wasn't really helping though, at least for directions."

"No, but even so, it's the only thing I had that was my father's. I feel like I was just getting to know him, and now he's gone again."

"Mh," the chimaera nodded. He could relate, on some level.

Dirt crunched beneath their boots. It was the only sound to be heard for several minutes.

"Zel?" the girl asked hesitantly.

"Hmm?" he responded.

"Do you think anyone else made it out? Do you think they survived?" Her voice begged for some kind of confirmation.

It had always been a difficult thing to come to a conclusion about the possible whereabouts and welfare of missing compatriots, at least in Zelgaddis's experience, and especially when emotions got in the way. It was for this reason that he took nearly ten minutes before answering her. By that time, she thought that he had ignored the question, or that it was too touchy a subject, real though the problem was, so she remained silent. She startled when he finally answered, "You know, I don't suppose it would surprise me if they _did_ survive."

She wanted to say something in response, but the words stuck. She only watched him walk on ahead. If she dared voice her hope, she was sure it would dissolve before her eyes.

"Cirross, this bed will be yours. You'll be sharing the room with Master Pasgard."

"H'lo," Xellos mumbled shy to his new roommate.

The other regarded him rather coldly, then turned back to the senior-rank wizard. "But... Master Halford, there must be some mistake..."

"Rilke, I know you like having a room to yourself, but there are simply not enough for everyone to have his own. You may learn to enjoy it, you never know. I expect you to help Master Cirross settle in. Dinner is at five, Cirross, bed at nine. Rilke will show you around." The portly wizard exited and closed the door behind him, leaving the two boys to get acquainted.

Cirross and Rilke stared for a long moment, sizing each other up. "You're not supposed to be here," Rilke shot at him. "The year's half over. You can't just come in in the middle. You'll be so far behind that next year's students will have a jump on you."

"I'll do fine. Thanks for the concern." The scene was probably a common one through history: two pre-teen boys, one slightly shorter by not as scrawny as the other (he'd seemed intimidating at the time, Xellos observed, but to his present self, he could only think of Rilke as scrawny), engaging in verbal sparring and gearing up for a first scuffle.

"What kind of dumb name is Cirross? Sounds like a girl's name."

Cirross snorted. "My mother gave it to me, and it's less girly than Rilke anyhow. Right, Rilke?"

"Yours sounds more like 'zeroes,' and that's probably the grade you'll be getting, too."

"Betcha I don't."

"Betcha you do. I'll be you two desserts you don't even have any bonus marks by this time next week."

"Only two? What, scared that I'll win already? ...what's a bonus mark?"

"Ha! You don't even know what they are! Now you're never gonna earn any!" the boy crowed. "Five desserts, then!"

"Deal," Cirross agreed. Rilke spit into his hand, then extended it toward him. Cirross did likewise, following an age-old boys' custom to seal the deal. But as he went to grip Rilke's hand, the other boy's went past his and connected with his cheek, wiping the wet gob down Cirross's face. "Lllch!" he went.

Ha! Sap!" Rilke yelled and cackled wildly as he ran down the hall of the dormitory. Lot of help _he_ was going to be. He reminded Xellos of a wild parrot...making a lot of unnecessary noise and always willing to crap on you from above.

Abandoned by his would-be guide, Cirross found his way outside and showed himself around the campus. Five buildings: the dining hall, three one-story dorms, and a large building that served as a library and auditorium. Rows of benches indicated where classes took place; outside, where runaway magic would cause less damage. A bath-house, if you could call it one, with privies on one side and a hot spring on the other, stood behind the journeymen's dorm. Presumably the master wizards had their own residences off-campus. Seems like a nice enough place, he thought. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad...

"Master Cirros! How kind of you to join us for supper. Two demerits for tardiness."

Cirross blinked as he entered the dining hall. Everyone was waiting on him to begin their evening meal. Eyes from rows of tables stared at him. He gulped. "Please, Master Halford, I didn't know where the dining hall was... and, what's a demerit?"

The portly wizard stared down on him. Somewhere from the back of the room, Cirross heard Rilke sniggering, not quite under his breath. The senior wizard heard him as well, shifting his gaze across the room until his gaze rested upon the troublemaker. "Master Rilke!" Rilke's muted laughter halted immediately at the shout. "Perhaps _you_ would like to take Master Cirross's demerits for him, for being remiss in your duties," Halford conveyed with great strictness and irony. "Cirross," he continued with a note of irritation, "Master Fainsworth will give you the lay of the land after supper. Take your seat, please, and we'll begin."

Though the second-year apprentice had a less-icy demeanor than Rilke, Cirross couldn't help but thing of Farnsworth as more than a passing acquaintance. The boy had been eager to get to a game that he and some of the other students had arranged to play. Cirross didn't want to make two enemies in the same day, so decided not to invite himself along, and Farnsworth, though he was more than willing to explain all the rules, didn't offer. Besides, his first day had been so wearying, all he could really think of was falling into bed. He was in no shape to play the complicated, mind-taxing card game Farnsworth described to him. Asleep on his feet, he bid the apprentice goodnight, visited the privy, then returned to his room and crawled under the blanket. Sleep was a welcome refuge.

Xellos noted a slight pause in the dream, and was just starting to wonder about experiencing unconsciousness while dreaming when something woke his younger self. "Aqua-Create!" he heard whispered somewhere, and suddenly Cirross found himself and his bedding cold and wet. Rilke and some of his buddies were standing outside the room, busting their guts laughing.

"Cirross wet the bed!" Rilke hollered, making sure the whole hall heard him.

Mean, nasty trick to play on the new kid, Xellos thought, feeling the boy's chill through the dream, as well as the burning of the boy's cheeks as he blushed angrily.

Cirross didn't say a word; he only glared at Rilke and his pals and turned over, away from the soaked part of his bed, which was more or less a foot-wide puddle in the dead center and hard to get away from. He shuffled the dampened blanket around as best as he could, thinking bitterly to himself, both as a child and adult, Yeah, have your fun... you just wait 'til you see _my_ magic tomorrow, and _then_ see what happens... The dream ended as he fell back asleep, cold and wet...

...and woke up, still cold, still wet. Amelia had shifted during the night and was curled up, laying across his lap. She shivered from time to time. Xellos sighed heavily and watched his breath steam in front of him. Stiff, he made an effort to stretch out his back without waking the princess up. What a lousy dream... he thought. Almost in response, his stomach gave a yowl and a stab of pain, reminding him not to forget about it or it would do its best to make him even more miserable. True. It would be a very long day if they couldn't find something to eat. He began nudging Amelia with his knees. "Amelia, we need to go."

"Nh?" She sighed, waking. "Okay mister Zelga-" She stopped herself. "Sorry, mister Xellos. I guess I was dreaming."

"Of something nice, I gather."

Amelia rubbed her eyes. "I think so. I can't really remember what it was about. I think Mister Zelgaddis was taking us all to get ice cream." She grinned to herself. If she ever saw him again, she would definitely make the suggestion. She sighed and pushed herself to her feet, searching herself for some shred of hope to cling to, only finding worry in the end. Mayaki had to have found him. She had to. Or...

Xellos helped her down from the ledge. She made the rest of the short climb to the ground easily, though the handholds in the rock felt like they were abrading her numb hands, then followed the priest. "Where are we going to go?"

"South," she said abruptly, then added, "Following the river. It's our best chance of running into the others."

The air was warming, taking some of the chill out of their clothes, but causing an eerie mist to rise from the canyon floor. So when the two came across their ruined equipment, scattered, smashed to bits, looking like it had seen the wrong end of a battlefield, Amelia could only associate it with a graveyard.

"Everything's wrecked," she observed, looking but not daring to touch the remains of a tent pole as they walked on. They passed shreds of what had been packs and bedrolls, bashed-in pots and pans, and several dozen bruised spinefruit in the rubble of broken logs, rocks, and sandy mud. Starving, the justice crusader snatched one of the dented pink globes and bit in, only to spit it out again and claw at her tongue. "Pffthh! It's all prickles inside! No fruit at all!" she moaned, crestfallen.

"I wonder if Lina ever figured that out," Xellos thought aloud and chuckled at the image that came to mind.

Lina spit repeatedly. "They're full oth thpines!" she screamed, then resumed scraping the hair-like bristles off her tongue. Gourry could only stand by and watch the painful process.

"Ya know, maybe that's why they're called spinefruit," the swordsman pondered, for lack of anything better to do.

"Thyut up," came the response.

He looked back at her, concerned. "Lina, are you..."

"I'll live," she said, spitting again. "But not if I don't get something to eat! I'm just so HUNGRY!" she wailed. "Why can't all this stuff ever happen to somebody else?!"

"It'll be all right, Lina, I promise," Gourry smiled down on her.

She grinned back slightly sourly and leaned into him. "Yeah, I know. Le't get moving though, huh?"

"Right," he agreed, letting her set the pace as she usually did. After a short but comfortable silence, a question rose out of the fog in his mind. "Lina?"

"Hmm?" she responded.

"What do people in love _do_?"

Lina blinked. The question took her completely by surprise. She blinked, a pink blush lighting her cheeks and nose. "Uhhh... a-actually, I never really thought about it that much," she said, knowing it was a lie. Of course she'd thought about love, about some handsome stranger who would someday come along and sweep her off her petite little feet...preferably a prince, but at least someone rich enough to cater to her every whim and desire. There would be kissing and cuddling involved, but only so much as she permitted, and a beautiful wedding ceremony and honeymoon-her complexion suddenly went from pink to deep red. Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let's not get carried away here! she scolded her runaway thoughts. Because it's not just the physical stuff, like Gourry's obsession with breasts... if it was, he'd've been gone a long time ago. I kinda don't stand a chance in that department... so it must be more like... companionship? And trust? Or just knowing he's going to be there for me no matter what?

Gourry interrupted her private thoughts, reminding her he'd asked her a question. "I just want to know, so I don't mess it up. I've just never... been in love before."

The sorceress glanced up at him. "What about Sylphiel?"

"Oh yeah, Sylphiel..." the swordsman replied airily.

Lina checked him out of the corner of her eye. "You DO remember her, don't you?"

"Oh yeah. I could never forget her!" he laughed back.

"But you weren't in love with her."

Gourry thought and replied slowly. "Nnnno, I don't...think so..."

"So what's with all the 'Oh, Dear Gourry' stuff?" Lina mocked, making her voice high and soft to mimic the shrine maiden's.

"Oh, that..." His voice carried an apologetic note. "When we were little, some big kids were teasing her about...something, and I told them to leave her alone, so they pushed me down instead and ran off. She bandaged my knees, and from then on, she followed me all over Sairaag. It was Gourry dead this and Gourry Dear that..."

Lina smirked a little, but not cruelly. "She had a crush on you."

"Huh? Really?"

Lina rolled her eyes at his tendency toward obliviousness. "I don't think she ever got over it either, the way she was always asking me what my intentions toward you were-" She stopped dead in her tracks and the tall mercenary bumped into her lightly. "Does that mean... that she knew...?"

"Knew what?"

"That we were in love with each other!" She stamped her foot on the rocky ground. "Damn it! Why am I always the last to know these things?!" She tromped along sullenly for several minutes with Gourry tagging along behind. And here she'd thought of Gourry as oblivious... how could she have been so blind to her own situation? Looking back, it was so clear! Amelia knew, Zelgaddis knew, Phibrizzo had known... Hell, even that annoying Martina...

__

You really should be more honest with your own feelings, Lina!

Even Martina knew! she thought. How could that self-centered bimbo see it and I not?!

"So... Lina..." Gourry broke the silence again, still waiting for an answer.

Lina groaned, voice turning almost bass with depression as she dragged herself along the canyon rim. "Whaaaat?"

"Do you think we're doing it right?"

Lina looked back and up into patient but inquisitive pools of blue, and the black cloud over her mood dissipated. She slid her fingers between his and snorted ruefully. "Ya know, Gourry, I think we've been doing it just right all along."

Disclaimer in short: Slayers and related characters aren't mine. Mayaki and various other incidental characters are.

Thanks for reading! Please leave me some feedback; I live and thrive on criticism! (not to mention, I'm a perfectionist. ;)

Pics of Mayaki (and, er, my other stuff) may be found at my art section: Beedoo!'s Place (look me up, I'm the only one with a !…soon to be updated! Wow!)

Firstly, I'd like to apologize for the formatting glitches in the past couple of chapters. I'll fix those ASAP!

Now, on to thanking my beautiful reviewers!

Kaeru Soyokaze: Glad you found me! And liked the story, too…;D

Twingirl: Writing, writing! Writing as fast as I can! Ack.. writers' cramp! . Right now the plot and the brain are having a disagreement, but I hope to have more up soon!

Lina Gabriev: Ack! Yep, there's two of them.. well, one now. l I'll have a look at making D'saani a little more distinct when I get around to editing. ;) Thanks.

Hmm.. Think this last bit could be a stand-alone story? Ah well, back to chewing on my pencil. I mean, writing. TTFN!


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